Magic School
Date: 2019-07-23 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy
Description: Adventure calls! Reality and fantasy finally collide when a new member joins Azure's party. A dangerous encounter with a mimic makes him think twice about touching large chests. And learning magic proves to be a bigger pain than he could have ever imagined.

The Realm Between

Book 4: Magic School

PHOENIX GREY

Text copyright 2019 by Phoenix Grey

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author.

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

About the Author

Special Thanks

FREE BOOK

CHAPTER ONE

THE REALM – Day 72

“Let’s start over. Hi. I’m Janine from accounting.” The dwarven woman held out her hand.

“I’m Azure,” he hesitated before giving it a firm shake. No, that wasn’t right. Azure was what they called him here. Another name existed for him on Earth. “No. My name isn’t Azure, it’s Will. Will Galvan, software testing engineer.” Wow. Saying it out loud felt odd.

“Software testing engineer,” Janine parroted, her features lifting as she nodded. “Impressive.”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “It’s not really. Just a name we were given to make us sound more important than we actually are. I’m a beta tester for a company called Radical Interactive. At least, I was,” his voice trailed off. That was a lifetime ago, it seemed. Almost a distant memory.

Janine’s mouth fell agape for a moment. “Did you say Radical Interactive?”

“I did. Have you heard of it?” Azure perked back up.

Her hand went to her chest. “I work there, too.” Then her eyes fell away from him. “That's an odd coincidence.”

“It is,” he agreed, wondering how the only person he had run into from his world also worked for Radical Interactive.

Janine grabbed his arm and lowered her voice. “Let’s sit and talk.”

Azure was undoubtedly game. In the few short minutes they had spoken, his world had been completely turned upside down. Everything that Azure thought he had come to accept, he was beginning to question all over again.

There was a new, almost scary, intensity to Janine as they took a seat on a bench away from the rest of the tavern patrons. She reached out for his hand as if they were old friends, leaning in. The closeness made Azure uncomfortable, but he wasn’t about to do anything that might offend or scare her away.

“How did you come to be here?” Janine asked.

“I just woke up here...in a barn.” Azure pulled from his memory. “No. That’s not quite right either.” He shook his head. “Apparently, I was found passed out in a forest. My friends and their father brought me to their farm. But the part where I woke up in a barn is true. What about you?”

She stared out into space as if she had already lost interest in his story. “I washed up on the beach here in Squall’s End.”

“Did someone find you?” He leaned to the side to try to grab more of her attention.

It worked. “No. I woke up naked and alone.” There was a firmness to her tone that spoke volumes about how much that had bothered her.

“That sounds rough. Waking up in a strange place, not knowing where you are or having any guidance.” He rubbed the top of her hand a few times.

“It was horrible,” she recalled. “But wonderful at the same time.” Janine’s voice brightened a bit. “Not to be somewhere unknown, of course...but to just still be alive.

“To be honest, I thought I had washed ashore on a different continent. Maybe England, though that seemed highly unlikely. I mean, the United States is so far away, and I was too far inland to reach the sea,” she rambled.

The first thing Azure thought was that England is not a continent. The second thing he thought was that Janine had just 100% verified that she was from his world. Neither Europe nor the United States existed anywhere within The Realm. She was just like him—had been transported here by some means.

“I just hope,” Janine’s voice cracked, and she pulled her hands away from him abruptly. “I just hope that I was able to save my son.” A tear cascaded down her cheek, and she quickly brushed it away.

“Your son?” Azure furrowed his brow, not following.

“Yes. We were on a family vacation camped near the Colorado River. It had recently flooded, so the river was rushing. I had just turned my back for a moment...” More tears fell as she struggled to continue. “He fell in,” her voice broke. “The water was moving so fast. I only caught a glimpse of him before he went under. I did the only thing a good mother would think of doing. I jumped in after him.”

Azure’s heart clenched from the sadness and desperation flowing from this brave woman. He hoped beyond hope that the story had a happy ending. “What happened then? Were you able to get to him?”

Janine wiped more tears away, but she nodded, a forced smile reaching her lips as bitter laughter followed. “I reached him. I remember wrapping him in my arms. But the water was moving so quickly. He was coughing and clinging to me. I’ve admittedly never been the best swimmer. But I tried. I tried to reach the riverbank. But the water was just moving so fast, and we kept going under.” Unable to control her grief any longer, Janine hid her face in her hands.

Azure wanted to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure how. He’d always been useless in situations like this.

“How old is your son?” he asked, making sure to use the tense that would suggest the kid had made it.

“Nine. Joshua is nine.” Janine sniffled, lifting her head and exhaling a long breath to steady herself again. “He wasn’t with me when I woke up. I don’t know what happened to him.”

“You’ll find him again someday,” Azure told her with a smile, unsure if it was a lie. Whatever the case, it sounded good.

The hope drained from Janine’s eyes as she shook her head. “I’m not so sure. First, I have to figure out how to get back.” Her gaze danced around the room as if tiredly looking for an exit.

“Where do you think we are?” It was the question that had been tugging at Azure ever since he’d discovered that Janine was from his world.

She refocused her attention on him. “To answer that, I need to know how you got here.”

Azure sunk, his eyes shifting as he tried to remember. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t remember your life before?” Janine gave him a quizzical look.

“I do.” He remembered Sheila and his job at Radical Interactive. He remembered being dumped and having a generally shitty day. But that was the last thing he remembered. Normally, if he’d had a bad day, he’d plug into Masterwind to become someone else for a while. Now he was someone else. But this wasn’t like any video game he had ever played before.

“Did something happen to you right before you came here?” She stared at him intensely.

Azure thought harder, but nothing came to him. “I think I might have started playing my favorite video game.”

Janine sighed. “Then, I’m not sure. At first, I had thought that maybe I had died. But this isn’t what I was told heaven would be like. It’s not hell either. Maybe limbo...”

He didn’t remember dying, but Azure wasn’t going to rule out the possibility. People died randomly all the time. Though highly unlikely, he may have had a brain aneurism while playing Masterwind. If that were the case, then it wouldn’t be impossible to consider he might be stuck in limbo.

While Azure had never murdered anyone, he certainly hadn’t been a saint. As a teenager, he had stolen medication from his grandmother to get high. He’d also shoplifted a few times. That was breaking at least one of the ten commandments. But shouldn’t there be some rule that the sins you committed as a kid were absolved as an adult? In the human world, your criminal record was wiped clean when you became an adult as long as your infractions were minor. Why wouldn’t god be so forgiving? Didn’t he know that kids were dumb and experimental by nature? It just didn’t seem fair that shit from 10+ years ago should be held against him now. While he wasn’t religious by any means, Azure liked to have thought that once he had turned into an adult, he had mostly straightened out and lived an honest life. He stopped stealing and engaging in the asshatery of youth. Never had he cheated on a girlfriend or dishonored his parents. Though he did take the Lord’s name in vain quite often.

Damn. Was that what had sent him to this medieval hell? It seemed a bit petty.

He was putting way too much thought into it. It didn’t matter now anyway. “Whatever the case, we’re here now. All we can do is make the best of it,” Azure told her. “It’s not much different from our old world. We still have to make money to survive.”

“Coin,” she corrected him weakly.

He ignored her. “And that’s why we need to take quests. Surely, there’s something you’re saving up for. Or maybe you’re just trying to survive.”

“I’m more concerned with leveling up than collecting loot and coin,” Janine confessed. “There’s a quest I want to go on, but I’m not high enough for it yet.”

“What level are you trying to reach?”

“Fifteen.”

Azure thought to inquire about the quest, but it didn’t really matter right now. All that did matter was that they had similar goals. “Dungeons have lots of monsters, and there’s always a boss. With the experience share, you’ll level up faster if you’re partied. Have you gone it alone this entire time?”

“For the most part. It’s suited me just fine. I’ve been doing what they call grinding to get experience, taking on Monster quests from The Adventurers Guild. I’ve done well enough with it so far—gotten this far.”

“Monster quests usually don’t have a very high difficulty, and the monsters you kill are typically low level. You’ll earn more XP from harder quests and boss monsters,” he worked on his sales pitch.

“XP?” She cocked an eyebrow.

“It’s short for experience,” Azure explained.

“Ah.” Janine nodded.

“Come with us on this quest,” he urged. “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do another one. But I think you’ll be hooked once you see how quickly you can level up from a dungeon crawl.”

Her eyes fell away from him as she considered his offer. “What’s the quest about?”

Azure pulled the quest paper from his bag and read the description to her.

Adventurers Guild Quest: The Heightened Haunted Mansion

Everyone knows that old Digby Mansion is haunted. Mistakenly built atop a cemetery, ghosts have been spotted wandering the halls for decades. Servants have reported that the newest owner of the mansion, Radclyffe Smithe, has gone missing after an expedition into the forbidden basement. Go to Digby Mansion and unravel the mystery of what happened to its owner.

Designation: E

Type: Bounty

Difficulty: Hard

Deadline: 9 days

Success: Discover what happened to Radclyffe

Failure: Cancel quest or die

Reward: 3 gold, 4 silver, 1 Quest Point, 1 Small Skill Token, 1 Ring of Fortune, 1 Strike Ring

Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

"Mel said there are no monsters inside of the mansion itself. The mansion is about eight hours away, so if we leave early in the morning, we can probably arrive mid-afternoon. Then we can decide if we want to explore the mansion for clues or head straight to the basement.

"The deadline is 9 days, if you include today, we have 8 days to finish it. 2 of those days will be spent traveling, so we should only be in the dungeon for 6 days. Hopefully, it won't take us that long."

"It's a Hard quest," Janine noted. "I've never done anything above Medium before. That was fairly challenging on my own. How great is the difference?"

"If you were alone, it would be bad. But with three of us—maybe four," he couldn't discount the possibility that Uden might return, "it should be a cakewalk." That was probably a lie. Hard quests were never a cakewalk, but that was better to offer her than an uncertain 'doable.' He needed to convince her to come along. "If you're worried about the danger, I'll do my best to protect you. At least until I can see where your skill levels are at." It was the most he could propound next to the promise of splitting his coin with her.

Janine smirked. "Honey, I probably won't need your protection." A thick digit moved to stroke the wedge of her ax. "This thing has killed more monsters than you've probably seen since coming to The Realm."

Azure wondered if she'd ever been swarmed by a colony of bats, but he wasn't about to argue when he almost had her on board.

"So, does that mean you're in?" The hint of hope lit his face with a smile.

"What time do we leave in the morning?"

CHAPTER TWO

THE REALM – Day 73

Uden was a no-show. Lonnell woke up at the ass crack of dawn, still looking morose about his brother’s disappearance. He couldn’t even fake happiness that Azure had recruited another party member for their quest.

Despite worrying that they’d have to wait for her, Janine was already downstairs in the tavern when they went to have breakfast. Azure introduced the two, and she immediately got excited at the prospect of meeting another person from Earth.

“He’s from here,” he gently informed her.

“From here,” the dwarven woman parroted absentmindedly. It was as if overnight she had forgotten that it was more normal for people to have been born inside of The Realm.

Respecting that Lonnell probably wasn’t interested in talking about any of their Earth nonsense, Janine went on to question him about his life in The Realm. That conversation extended to their walk toward Digby Mansion. He told her about the farm back on Crescent Island, why he had come to the mainland, and all about Uden, sans that he had ever died. All she needed to know was that he was a half-imp that wasn’t well-liked thanks to his mixed heritage, that he had arrived on the mainland after them and was thus a lower level, and that he was currently completing his prerequisite quest for The Adventurers Guild—if that last part was even true.

In exchange, she painted a picture of a life as a single mom with her two children, telling Lonnell that she had left her kids with her parents to come pursue work at The Adventurers Guild in Squall's End. He didn't question her further, not seeming particularly interested.

The walk to Digby Mansion was long but not without entertainment. Every time any type of monster would appear, Janine would stray from the path to slay it. This annoyed Lonnell because it cost them time getting to the mansion. When he complained, she bit back that it cost them time for him to forage, too. He countered that the time spent foraging was far less than killing monsters, which was true. Janine just ignored him and continued doing her own thing. After the sixth monster, when Lonnell tried to complain again, she told him to fuck off.

Azure instantly decided that he liked her.

Knowing that there was no getting through to Janine and desperately wanting to make a compromise, Lonnell decided that the three Adventurers should face all future threats together to reduce the time it took to kill them. Janine seemed fine with this, and they all partied up. Azure couldn't resist taking a peek at her stats, surprised to see how balanced her character was.

Name: Janine Cossey

Race: Dwarf

Level: 8

Health: 200

Mana: 200

Stamina: 200

“Do you know any magic?” he asked, noticing that her Mana was higher than Lonnell’s.

“No.” Janine shook her head.

“Then why is your Mana so high? Do you have items giving you a stats boost?” If she didn’t need them, then maybe they could trade.

A chuckle left her lips. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“How could you have lived this long and have no idea what he’s talking about?” Lonnell grumbled under his breath.

“Some items that you pick up in The Realm give you stat boosts,” Azure explained. “For instance, my Spiked Vambraces add +2 to my Strength, giving me an extra 20 points of Stamina.”

She looked confused. “No. I don’t have anything like that.”

His expression went slack, and he paused for a moment before jogging the few paces needed to catch up. “If you don’t know any magic, and you don’t have items that are bolstering your stats, then why is your Mana so high?” he asked again.

Janine shrugged. “Just is.”

Azure turned to Lonnell since he doubted that Janine would know the answer to his next question. “Do dwarves have an affinity for magic?”

“No. It’s the opposite actually.” He kept his face forward, just wanting to get to where they were going. “Her Mana is high because she put points into Intelligence.”

Azure couldn’t understand why she would do that. It just made no sense.

“Look. Another one.” Janine pointed her ax at a giant wasp buzzing their way. As soon as she announced the monster’s presence, she took off at an awkward jog toward it, leaving the two men to catch up.

By the time they reached her, Janine had already cleaved the wasp in half, making it clear that she didn’t want nor need their help.

“What did we discuss?” Lonnell glowered at her as she looted the body.

“My magic stats or something like that,” Janine replied, though it didn’t seem like she was engaged in the conversation at all.

“Before that.” He gestured in a circular motion.

She stood and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Azure simply sat back and watched the drama unfold with a grin on his face.

“We’re supposed to fight all the monsters together,” Lonnell reminded her.

“Why? That one was weak. I clearly could handle it on my own.” She walked past him then motioned for him to follow. “Come on. We want to make it to the mansion before nightfall, don’t we?”

A vein in Lonnell’s neck bulged, only making Azure’s grin grow wider. Yes, he definitely appreciated their new party member.

Unlike Lonnell, who seemed insistent on keeping to his own rules, Azure knew better than to get in Janine’s way. He Analyzed their foes as they appeared, and as long as the threat was blue, he didn’t bother stepping in. The dwarf was very proficient with her ax. In fact, he doubted he’d have to worry about protecting her when they entered the basement of Digby Mansion. The woman was pure DPS.

Finally, a higher level enemy appeared, and it was time for them to all jump into battle together. It quickly became abundantly clear that Janine wasn’t used to fighting on a team. She charged in, taking point and flailing her ax. Azure waited until she had landed a hit before drawing his bow from afar and downing the enemy with one shot.

Defeated Level 10 Giant Yellow Wasp. 60XP rewarded.

While the same size as an average giant wasp, the giant yellow wasp had a black thorax and a completely yellow abdomen. Its body lay at Janine’s feet. She began to kneel but then paused, her eyes shooting back to Azure. “You loot it.”

He wasn’t about to argue, needing all the money he could get. When he began sawing off one of the wasp’s wings, Janine stopped him with a gentle touch on the shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

Azure arched an eyebrow at her. “I’m taking the wings. Why?”

“Why are you taking the wings?”

“Because you told me to loot it.” He gestured to the half sawed-off wing with his Black Dagger, wondering what Janine’s deal was. She had already offered the loot to him. No backsies.

Janine shook her head. “The wings are no good. See how brittle they are.” Tracing her finger along one of the wings, Azure could see where a few of the fine transparent panels were missing. He thought he had seen a few fall out while he had been sawing, but he hadn’t paid any mind to it.

“Are you telling me these are worthless?” Azure cocked his head back.

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” There was a twinge of impatience in her tone as if she thought he was stupid.

“Then what am I supposed to get out of this?” Irritation made its way into his voice as well.

“These wasps are more mature, so their venom sack is well developed. You’ll also be happy to know that it’s worth waaay more than the wings.” A smile spread across Janine’s face.

“Way more, huh?” His frustration abated from the thought of more money. Azure looked the wasp over, wondering how to get to its venom sack. This reminded him of the ordeal with the giant crayfish when he had plopped its corpse on the floor of the smithy because he didn’t know what part of it was valuable. It was a little embarrassing, but Azure had no idea how to loot the wasp. “All right. It’s confession time. You’ve probably guessed this, but I’ve never extracted a wasp venom sack before. I’m not asking for you to do it for me, but if you give me a bit of instruction, we can finish this and be on our way.”

He cast a glance at Lonnell, who looked highly annoyed from having to wait on them.

Despite Azure telling Janine that she didn’t need to show him, she took his dagger, knelt, and demonstrated anyway. Dissecting the giant yellow wasp was blessedly not as messy as he had thought it would be, though his blade was left with a thin sheen of slime. The insides of the wasp were scentless.

Clearly not one to shy away from a dirty job, Janine reached inside of the wasp’s abdomen near its stinger and pulled out a small purple kidney-shaped organ before handing it over to Azure.

You have received the following item:

Giant Wasp Venom Sack

Quantity: 1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Alchemy Component, Crafting Component

“There you go,” Janine said to him before pulling a cloth from her bag to wipe her hands off.

“Thanks,” he replied, carefully placing the item in his Bag of Holding. It felt like an unbalanced water balloon.

They continued on, not traveling far before encountering another giant yellow wasp. Falling in line with Lonnell’s desire for them to all work together, Janine didn’t rush in this time. Instead, she waited, approaching the monster side by side with Lonnell. He rounded the wasp, and they went after it together. Azure thought about drawing his sword, but he knew they didn’t need his help. Once the monster had been slain, Janine offered the loot to Lonnell, even though she had landed the killing blow.

It wasn’t until they had broken off from the main road that they saw anything other than wasps. While there was still a well-traveled path to the mansion, the forest around it was dense and heavily populated with wildlife. The trees closed over the path, creating a canopy that nearly blocked out the sun, only allowing a finger of light to stripe across the ground here and there.

“It’s a little eerie,” Azure commented, feeling a chill race up his spine.

Lonnell pushed to the front. “It’s going to be even eerier if we don’t make it before nightfall.”

The sun was already setting. That didn’t stop Janine from veering off of the path when she saw a coyote run across the road. It Analyzed as easy, so Azure didn’t bother following. Lonnell sucked a breath in between clenched teeth, audibly hissing. His features were set in pure annoyance as they waited for the dwarf to return. Luckily, she caught up with the animal before it had gotten far enough for her to be out of sight. Azure definitely didn’t want to have to venture into the forest to hunt her down. He had a pretty good feeling that more dangerous monsters lurked within.

Congratulations! The skill: Analyze has reached Level 10. This skill allows you to see how dangerous a foe is in relation to your own level. Use this skill frequently to avoid getting yourself killed. You can now see the foe's level.

A perk? That was unexpected.

“Hey.” Azure turned to Lonnell who grunted in reply, still glowering in Janine’s direction where she was skinning the coyote she had just killed. “I just got a perk for leveling Analyze.”

“Congratulations,” Lonnell replied dryly, clearly not giving a shit.

“Uden said it wouldn’t happen until level 14.” That’s why he’d been working so desperately to level the skill. It felt like it was going to take forever before he’d see any benefit from it.

“Maybe there was a divine blessing.” Lonnell shrugged, still not really engaging in the conversation.

“A divine blessing?” Azure quirked an eyebrow.

Lonnell finally tore his eyes away from Janine. “Things shift in The Realm every once in a while.”

“I’m still not following.”

He sighed as if what he was telling Azure was common knowledge. “The gods may have seen fit to grant the perk sooner. Whatever the case, it’s a good thing, and you shouldn’t question it.” Lonnell signified that he was done explaining by continuing down the path.

It took thirty more minutes of walking before they finally reached the gate of the mansion, and that was mainly because Janine made them stop five more times so she could hunt down the animals that crossed their path. She seemed an expert at hunting and knowing exactly what to loot from every beast she came in contact with. Azure was more than a little impressed with her skills, but he supposed it came with her goal of leveling up as quickly as possible. Despite all of her killing, Lonnell was the only one who had gained a level on their walk over. He should have been ecstatic, but the stress of their travels seemed to weigh down any enthusiasm that he might have been able to garner from good happenings.

“Whoa!” Janine said as they stood outside of the gate, staring up at the mansion. “Now that is eerie.”

She wasn’t wrong. Digby Mansion was like something straight out of a horror movie. The Tudor-style building was three stories tall with gray bricks, a green roof, and columns at both the front and side entrances. Oriel windows projected from the top floor, looking almost like eyes staring down at them.

It may have been just because it was late afternoon, but it seemed that a dense fog hung around the property, painting it in a hazy backdrop. There was nothing magnificent about the landscaping. The yard was neatly maintained with sparse trees.

“Let’s get on with it.” Lonnell moved to open the gate, not caring to marvel at the architecture.

A chill rolled down Azure’s spine as they approached the mansion, and while he found himself desperately wanting to get inside, he feared that what he’d find there was far worse than the eeriness of the grounds. It was built on a cemetery, after all. And the property looked as such—a cemetery sans gravestones.

“I don’t like this place.” Janine hugged herself as they stood outside of the massive door while Lonnell used the ornate brass knocker.

Blessedly, it wasn’t long before someone came to answer. A willowy woman smiled at them from across the threshold. As soon as Lonnell announced why they had come, she ushered them inside.

For the mansion being haunted, it was several degrees warmer than outside had been. Azure tried not to let his jaw drop as he took in the luxury. The open floor plan allowed him to see all the way to the back of the house. A double grand staircase with wrought iron balustrades was the focal point. Ornate rugs covered the hardwood floor. Azure had expected to see the walls lined with tapestries, but instead, there were portraits, only adding to the creepy ambiance.

“I’m so glad you’ve come,” relief rang clear in the servant’s voice, and she placed a delicate hand on her chest. “Master Smithe has been missing for almost a week now, and we fear the worst.”

Azure wasn’t sure who ‘we’ was supposed to be. From what he could tell, the female servant was the only one around.

“Don’t worry. We’ll find out what happened to him,” Lonnell assured her.

“Shall I lead the way to the basement? Master has found a way to unlock it. Seabrook peeked his head inside, but none of us dared to go any further. The basement was sealed for a reason.” She shook her head, her black hair pinned back beneath a white coif.

Lonnell turned to his companions. “It’s late. It would probably be best to sleep here tonight and venture into the basement at daybreak.”

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Azure reminded him. “The quest duration is only 9 days.” He thought about saying that they’d wasted a day by not leaving out yesterday, but that wasn’t exactly true. They’d picked up a much-needed party member, though Lonnell might disagree. All the hunting that Janine had done had burnt through a lot of daylight. Had she not been with them, Azure and Lonnell would have reached the mansion hours ago. Thanks to the extra effort they had expended, they were all down on Stamina. It would definitely be wiser for them to sleep and recover if not for the time crunch they were now under. “If we sleep here tonight, we’ll only have 7 days left including the one it will take to get back to Squall’s End. Who knows how far down the dungeon extends.” Turning to the servant, he asked, “Digby didn’t happen to have any maps of the basement that we could look at?”

“I’m afraid not. Regardless, this is an urgent matter. Everyone knows that the monsters inside of the basement are deadly. You should make haste to find the master.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Janine chimed in. “The sooner we get this done, the better. I’m guessing you boys were smart enough to bring Stamina potions.”

Azure cringed inwardly. “Three.”

She shook her head. “How could you think to take on a dungeon without more Stamina potions?”

“Because they cost a bloody fortune,” he complained dryly.

Janine sighed. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to make do with what we’ve got.”

“So I guess we’re going down to the basement?” Lonnell looked at both of his companions in turn.

“I guess we are.” Azure’s eyes shifted to Janine for confirmation.

“We will need to sleep at some point, though,” Lonnell continued as the servant led the way through the mansion to the basement. “I vote that we get through the first floor and then stop for the night.”

They walked single file with Lonnell in the lead and Janine at the tail. It wasn’t long before the servant stopped in front of a door. She opened it to reveal stairs leading to another door.

“We might need torches.” Lonnell took note of the darkness in the stairwell.

“That, I have materials for,” Azure replied with some relief. It was nice to not be completely unprepared.

“We won’t know until you open that door,” Janine urged him on.

“Good luck,” the servant told them as they descended the stairwell.

Lonnell opened the door at the bottom of the stairs, and they entered the dungeon.

CHAPTER THREE

THE REALM – Day 73

It was nothing like Azure had expected—nothing like he had ever seen before in a dungeon. The door to the basement led to a surprisingly short hallway. Only about twenty feet long and five feet wide, there were doors on both sides and one at the end. Puce colored paint chipped from the walls, showing the stone construction beneath. The entire area was illuminated by rows of wrought iron sconces with candles set in them, each one about three feet apart. Holes pockmarked the base of the wall where rats had pushed through. It felt like they were in a dilapidated part of the mansion, not beneath it.

Of the three doors now available to them, the only significant one seemed to be on the left side of the hallway. Fog and an eerie blue light streamed out from the space beneath it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that there was something nefarious inside.

Azure felt like he might have been imagining things, but it seemed that Janine had drawn closer to him. It was a tight space, though.

“Do we really need to check that one out?” Azure gestured to the door with the light beneath it. “We all know he’s not going to be in there.”

“And I’m pretty sure that something horrible will be,” Janine said.

Nope. He hadn’t imagined it. The dwarven woman was practically clinging to his side. It seemed that all of her courage had left the second she’d laid eyes on the ghostly fog.

“Scared?” he teased, looking down at her.

“Aren’t you?” Her complexion was definitely a few shades paler, and sweat dotted her brow even though it was relatively cool now that they were under the mansion.

“I won’t be scared until I know what we’re up against.” Azure’s gaze returned to the ominous door.

“I think it’s safe to skip it.” She nodded.

“No,” Lonnell said firmly.

“Why not?” Janine’s brow pinched. “Azure’s right. We all know Radclyffe won’t be in there.”

“Of course, he won’t. That would be too easy. But we don’t know what puzzles we’re going to encounter in the future. Skipping the room now could mean the difference between life and death.” He gave Azure a pointed look, reminding him of the puzzle door in their quest for Gaia’s Staff. What they needed to solve that puzzle had been near the entrance to the dungeon, and they’d all overlooked it at the time.

“He’s right.” Azure felt foolish for forgetting how important every last detail could be. “We’re going to have to go in there.”

“Ugh.” Janine groaned. “Can’t I just stay out here?”

“You did not come all this way and make us late not to be helpful,” Lonnell snapped at her.

Having a feeling that Janine was not one to take a tongue-lashing, Azure quickly stepped between them. “Hey. Calm down. We don’t even know what we’re up against yet.”

As if drawn to the sound of his voice, a rat darted from one of the holes at the base of the wall. A shrill scream left Janine's throat, and she ran back a few paces to stand on the stairs.

Azure's eyes fell to the small beast as it charged them. Activating Analyze had a different effect from before. Along with the colored bar that typically popped up to indicate the creature's strength in relation to his, this one showing as green, there was also some text above the bar.

Level 10 Rat.

For being small, the rat was vicious. Azure didn't even see it as a threat until he tried to kick it and it leaped at him, sinking its Chiclet teeth into his shin.

Level 10 Rat delivers 50 damage.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” A good shake of his leg sent the rat flying a few feet away.

The bite had gone all the way through Azure’s Bronze Greaves, sending ripples of pain up his leg. It was as if it had penetrated to the bone. Warm blood ran down his shin.

Lonnell smacked the rat with his staff. Its body jumped from the impact, but it wasn’t enough to do the creature in. The rat screeched at him defiantly, baring its now bloodsoaked teeth. Apparently hearing the monster’s war cry, two more rats emerged from the walls, scurrying over to join their friend.

Azure held his hand out and cast Grease, shooting a stream of black liquid from his fingers to cover the ground in front of them. Their initial attacker got a good coating, looking buried for a moment until it tried to flick the thick substance from its fur by shaking. The other two rats slowed to a crawl as their feet touched the grease.

Lonnell struck the closest rat with his staff again. The second time seemed to be a charm. It lay still in the grease, it's beady red eyes glazing over from death.

This really should not be difficult, Azure thought as he walked toward the other two approaching rats. The second his foot touched the grease, his movement was greatly impeded. It was like walking through thick molasses. Each step took way more effort than it should have. While he was struggling, the rats were having an even harder time due to their small bodies. It seemed like a rather effective spell against them.

Once Azure reached the next closest rat, he stomped on it. It felt soft and squishy under his heel, and he nearly tripped as his ankle rolled.

Not wholly defenseless, the rat reared its head to snap at him. One good blow should have killed it, but for whatever reason, it hadn't. Try as it might, the creature couldn't find purchase to bite Azure. Sturdy as hell, it took two more good stomps to end it.

Defeated Level 10 Rat. 70XP rewarded.

By the time Azure had slain the first rat, the second had just about reached him. It lunged for his foot, but the grease kept it glued in place, its body merely jolting forward from the effort. Azure raised his foot, almost amused by how much effort it took to balance himself as he pulled it free from the grease. His heel came smashing down on his opponent just as another rat emerged from the wall.

“A little help here.” He cast a glance back at his two companions.

Lonnell was standing at the edge of the grease puddle while Janine was still a few stairs up looking terrified of the small furry creatures that were posing more of a nuisance than an actual threat. That might have been different had Azure not been able to cast Grease. The rats were fast, and it seemed that their numbers were quickly increasing. Two more poured out of the holes in the walls to join the fray, making four total that still needed to be dealt with.

"You'd probably have better luck with your sword," Lonnell told him.

Azure sighed inwardly as he lifted his foot again to stomp the rat a second time. "That's not the kind of help I was requesting."

"Come back and lure them over here. There's no reason to be standing in the grease."

Prissy bastard, not wanting to get his feet dirty. Azure had just been wanting to get rid of the rats quickly so that they could move on. But if Lonnell wasn't going to come to him, then it was best if he retreated. The other three rats were wading toward him, and at the rate that things were going, it wouldn't be long before he'd become overwhelmed.

Two more good stomps caved the rat's skull in. Blood mixed with the grease, creating a dark soup. The scent of the black substance was too strong for Azure to smell the copper mingling with it.

Defeated Level 10 Rat. 70XP rewarded.

The reach of his legs was way longer than the stubby rats could hope to keep up with, and Azure was easily able to make his way back to his companions without injury. There, they waited together for the rest of the rats to reach them. Perhaps trying to make up for not entering the oil, Lonnell took on two of the rats while Azure battled the third. Purely for the sake of not wanting to reduce his weapon's durability and get it dirty, Azure stuck with his stomping method.

The problem of being out of the area of effect for the grease spell quickly became apparent when the rats found their way to the edge of the puddle. As if their paws had been miraculously cleaned, the second they hit the dry ground, they were able to move without impediment. That put Lonnell in a bind as he was tag-teamed by the two rats he had decided to face on his own.

Azure hadn't expected them to be able to move so freely once outside of the grease either. The rat he was fighting was able to easily dodge his second stomp, scurrying around him to chomp into his Achilles tendon.

Level 10 Rat delivers 50 damage.

“Gah!” His right side sank from the pain.

Moron! He thought of Lonnell. This was precisely why he should have stayed in the grease—why they all should have gone into the grease.

Knowing that the rat had disabled his ability to stomp it again, Azure was forced to draw his Bergen's Glaive. Swinging it in the tight space with Lonnell so near him was inconvenient, so he just tried stabbing at the rat instead.

A sound of pain coming from his comrade told Azure that Lonnell was in trouble. He'd managed to kill the first rat, but the second seemed twice as aggressive now that its friend lay dead a foot away.

Azure was too busy stabbing at his own nuisance to help. The rat kept dodging at the last minute, its beady eyes narrowed as if it were angrily mocking him.

“Get in here and help us,” Lonnell barked at Janine.

“Nope. I don't do rats.” She shook her head, keeping to the stairs.

Azure was a bit annoyed but not in the mood to argue. If Janine was afraid of both rats and ghosts, then this definitely was not the dungeon for her. Hadn’t she expected this much before accepting his invitation to join them?

It took faking the rat out for Azure to land a hit. Stabbing his blade down into its soft flesh and hearing the bone crunch beneath was way too satisfying.

“I got you, you scrappy little bastard!” he announced proudly as he twisted his blade for good measure.

Defeated Level 10 Rat. 70XP rewarded.

Lonnell had finished the second rat off at around the same time, though he looked much worse for wear, panting and with his legs littered with bite marks. His hands trembled as he reached into his Bag of Holding for healing potions. Blood was running down his legs to pool at his feet.

Thankfully, the wall seemed to have run dry of rats. Azure decided to drink one healing potion, hoping it would help him to walk. He didn’t feel like it was worth wasting more for now. The liquid soothed some of his pain, but not enough to make it pleasant for him to put weight on his right foot.

“I never knew rats could be so vicious,” he commented, thinking about the ones back in his own world.

“Nasty things.” Lonnell shook his head with disdain at the corpses at his feet.

“I thought you were here because of the experience,” Azure cast back to Janine. She seemed to have no desire to leave the stairs.

“I do want the experience, but I don’t do rats,” she replied firmly.

“Or ghosts?” Lonnell’s brow furrowed at her.

Janine shifted her weight, avoiding his gaze. “Depends on what kind of ghosts.”

Lonnell turned his attention back to Azure. “This is going to be a problem.”

“This is going to be a problem,” he agreed, staring at Janine.

She sighed, her shoulders slumping as her eyes fell to the floor. “I’m sure things will be fine once I get used to all of this.”

“If you knew this was a ghost quest and you’re afraid of ghosts, then why did you agree to come?” Azure was pretty sure he already knew the answer, and while part of him understood, he didn’t really like it. All Janine wanted was to cling to someone from her own world.

“You pressured me into this,” she spat at him suddenly, taking a defensive stance.

Lonnell rolled his eyes. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”

“What?” Azure couldn’t believe either of them. Maybe he had pressured her a little bit. Okay, a lot. But she had never made any indication that the objective of the quest bothered her.

Azure felt like he was standing with a bunch of children, their backs all turned away from each other.

“Do you want to go back?” He gestured up the stairs. It’s not like they had reached a point of no return. The quest had just barely begun.

“I don’t know.” Her voice dropped, almost reaching a whine.

“Well, you better decide. You’ve already wasted enough of our time.” Lonnell scowled at her.

Guilt painted Janine’s face. Azure couldn’t help but feel responsible for the entire situation. Whatever the case, though, Lonnell was right. They had already wasted too much time getting here. They couldn’t afford to waste more of it arguing and letting Janine take however long it would take for her to make up her mind.

He decided that by the time he and Lonnell were done looting their kills, they would move on with or without her. As Azure knelt next to the rat, he realized he had no idea what part of it could possibly be of any value. The thing was disgusting.

Lonnell was simply standing there staring at the sheen of the grease, a vein in his neck bulging from frustration over the situation.

“You don’t happen to know what part of this is worth looting, do you?” Azure asked him, looking up at his friend.

“Don’t know. Don’t care. It’s a rat; I doubt whatever is lootable is worth much.”

Well, this certainly wasn’t fun. The tension in the air was palpable, and the bad moods were draining.

“I can tell you.” Janine reached into her bag to pull out a book. She flipped through several pages, then stopped. “You can take the tail.”

“What’s that?” Azure’s eyes fixed on the book.

Janine closed it and placed it back in her bag. “It’s a bestiary. It has a list of all of the monsters in The Realm and what part or parts of them is valuable.”

The book seemed highly valuable. Azure needed one for himself. “Where did you get it?”

“I picked it up from a traveling merchant. He had a lot of interesting things.”

“Did his name happen to be Ruthren?” That sounded like something he’d have.

“I don’t remember his name.” Janine shook her head.

“Middle-aged guy with a scar over one eye.” Azure pointed to his right eye.

“I don’t remember.”

That was a little disappointing. It would have been cool if they knew the same traveling merchant. Oh well. Not really important in the grand scheme of things. All that mattered was hopefully finding another copy of the book. Maybe they had one at the library at Hawking’s School of Land Magic that he could purchase. He'd have to go there and ask once this quest was over.

Turning his attention back to looting, Azure took out his Black Dagger and started cutting the tails off of the rats he’d slain.

You have received the following item:

Rat Tail

Quantity: 3

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.0 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

Lonnell did the same. When they were done, the two men looked at each other.

“So what now?” Lonnell asked him.

“We keep going.” Azure made his tone even, hoping to convey to Janine that they were continuing on with or without her. He had no doubt that she could make it back to Squall’s End on her own. She was strong—the strongest woman he’d seen in The Realm so far. He just wished she understood how strong she really was and that rats and ghosts were no different than any other monster.

Lonnell nodded, casting an uncomfortable glance back at Janine before he continued through the sludge to get to the other side of it.

Azure looked up at her. “What are you going to do?”

Janine’s eyes shifted around, the wheels in her head quickly turning. A few muscles in her face twitched. It was clear that the situation caused her extreme anxiety.

“Hey,” he said to get her attention, speaking more gently. “I told you I’d protect you, but you shouldn’t come if you’re not going to at least try to help. You are...so incredibly strong. I’ve been nothing but impressed by you this entire journey.

“I get that everyone has their fears. Everyone,” Azure emphasized. “But repeated exposure is how you get over them. These things that you’re afraid of now...once you reach the end of this dungeon, they’ll be like nothing to you.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” She turned her gaze to one of the tailless rat corpses on the floor and shuddered.

His eyes followed. “It’s dead now. It can’t hurt you.”

“It’s not about it being able to hurt me. It’s just gross.” Janine visibly shuddered again as if she couldn’t even stand the sight of the rat.

Azure sighed. He had no idea how else to get through to her. “Well, I was hoping you’d come with us, but I understand. I’ll see you back at Squall’s End if we’re able to make it through this. We really could have used your help. I know you have it in you to do this. I just wish that you knew that,” he told her before turning away. The guilt card was played, and he did feel a bit bad for it, but none of what he had said had been a lie. The swarm of rats had all been level 10. If not for Azure having the ability to cast Grease, they might not have survived that initial attack. As it was, they had both come out of it pretty beaten up. Having Janine help in the fight would have considerably turned the tides in their favor, especially with her overzealous spirit. Things would likely only be getting harder from here on out.

Not looking back, Azure waded through the grease to get to Lonnell. He was disappointed in himself for multiple reasons. First and foremost, for pressuring Janine into coming in the first place. Bringing her along had caused nothing but tension. Lonnell clearly didn’t like her. And while she had made the trip to Digby Mansion highly entertaining, she had slowed them down. The only benefit from having recruited her was meeting someone from his own world and learning about the bestiary book. That alone had made it worth it, but Azure knew that Lonnell didn’t feel the same way. He’d likely be getting a lecture about recruiting people later—if Lonnell would ever even allow him to do it again.

Janine trudged back up the stairs as Azure met up with Lonnell. Lonnell was staring at the stairwell, though his expression betrayed no emotion. For a moment, Azure thought he was going to say something to the effect that he was glad Janine had decided to leave, but instead he turned his attention to the door with the light under it.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said with all of the exhaustion that they were both feeling.

“You healed up more than me. Do you want to go first?” Azure offered, not because he was afraid but because he had no idea what they’d face once they got inside. If he needed time to down another healing potion, it would be better if Lonnell was in front of him.

“I suppose.” Lonnell took point, reaching for the door handle.

“Wait!” A voice came from the stairwell.

They both turned to see Janine jogging back toward them, though she slowed once her feet hit the grease.

“Oh, this stuff is disgusting.” She scowled at the black sludge sticking to her shoes before looking back up at them. “Wait for me. I’m coming with you.”

Lonnell sighed audibly, and Azure didn’t even have to glance at him to know he was rolling his eyes. This was exactly what he hadn’t wanted to happen. Azure was pleased, though. He grinned at Janine as she struggled through the grease to get to them.

“Do you think you could have not covered the entire path?” She glanced back at the shining puddle.

“Do you think rats aren’t smart enough to go around?” he tossed back.

Janine shrugged before turning her attention back to them. “I just have one request.”

“What is it?” Lonnell asked irritably.

“Can we please go through the non-creepy door first?” She pointed behind them.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE REALM – Day 73

Lonnell still took point as they stood in front of the door without the light streaming beneath it. One twist of the handle and a good push revealed a small square room that had the same peeling puce paint and holes at the base of the walls as the rest of the hallway. The only thing inside was an ornate chest on a pedestal. It looked too suspiciously inviting.

Lonnell took a step into the room, followed by his companions. As if guarding the chest, two more rats came streaming in from the holes at the base of the walls. Once again, Janine shrieked and fell back, leaving the men to handle the threat.

“Oh, good grief,” Lonnell moaned, taking a wide step to the right to separate him from the group and divide the rats.

Azure considered casting Grease again, but he didn’t think he had enough self-control not to cover the chest in the small space, so he used Dirty Move instead, blowing dust from his palm into the rat’s face. The rat that had charged toward him gave pause, rubbing at its eyes with its tiny hands.

Azure drew his sword and made short work of it with two quick stabs. The rat squeaked in pain before falling over dead.

Defeated Level 10 Rat. 70XP rewarded.

He turned to Janine while Lonnell finished up dispatching of his own rat. “Next time, you are going to fight them.”

She blew out a long breath, shaking her head. Azure just couldn’t understand why she was so terrified of the small creatures.

“They give really good experience,” he tried to convince her.

“Don’t care. Not worth it.” Janine stayed planted.

“If we have to carry you through this whole dungeon, you’re not getting any loot,” Lonnell threatened.

She crossed her arms over her chest, turning her nose up to him. “Rat tails aren’t worth much anyway. You can have them.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” he grumbled as he knelt to look his kill.

Azure did the same.

You have received the following item:

Rat Tail

Quantity: 1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.0 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

“You better hope that more rats don’t come from behind,” Azure teased, prompting her to move further into the room.

Once they were done looting the bodies, the three Adventurers turned their attention to the chest. It was the size of a beer cooler, made of redwood and covered in ornate gold carvings that swirled along the edges. An oversized matching gold padlock kept it closed at the latch.

“This just smells of a trap,” Lonnell muttered, keeping his distance from the chest.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Azure pushed forward, his greed getting the best of him. Whatever was inside, he wanted it.

“Be careful,” Janine warned, seeming indecisive about whether to hug the wall or stay close to her comrades. Nothing seemed safe.

“Careful’s my middle name.” Azure reached the chest and picked up the lock, examining it for a brief second before his eyes rose to wait for whatever touching the chest might unleash.

Nothing happened.

He gave the lock a few good tugs, but... what’s the point of having a lock if it doesn’t do its job.

“There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” Azure pulled his Black Dagger out, hoping he wouldn’t break it while he tried to pick the lock. Pushing the tip of the blade into the keyhole and turning produced no results.

“Here. Let me try.” Janine shouldered her way in. In her hand was a lock pick.

Lonnell’s mouth dropped. “Do you mean to tell me you’re a thief?”

She visibly cringed at his accusation before turning to him. “No. I got these for completing a quest. Jeez. Someone’s quick to jump to conclusions.” She shook her head at him before trying her luck with the lock to no avail, though it honestly didn’t seem like she knew what she was doing.

“I don’t think it works like that,” Azure told her before taking over, though he had no better luck.

“We could sure use Uden right about now,” Lonnell mumbled, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Yes, because your brother is the epitome of the rogue type. Before you think of being condescending toward her about her lock pick, maybe you should think about that,” Azure chastised him, effectively making Lonnell shut up. He didn’t doubt for one second that lock picking was in the half-imp’s skill set.

“This doesn’t seem like it’s going to work,” Janine stated the obvious after watching Azure fiddle with the lock for a few more minutes.

“No, but like I said, more than one way to skin a cat.” Fed up with going about opening the chest the hard way, Azure drew his Bergen’s Glaive. “Stand back.”

Lonnell and Janine gave him room. Azure attempted to cleave the lock off, but the metal didn’t want to give. He tried a second time, putting more weight into the swing, but the lock was stubborn, refusing to come off.

“This is the toughest gold I’ve ever seen,” he commented.

“Maybe I can do it.” Janine readied her ax.

“If I can’t do it, then I doubt you can do it.” Azure still stepped aside.

“Just because you have a penis doesn’t mean you’re stronger,” she bit back at him with narrowed eyes. “I’m a dwarf. We’re naturally more muscular than humans from what I’ve been told.”

Janine put all of her weight into a downward swing that probably could have cleaved the head of a horse clean off its body. A spark jumped from where metal hit metal, but there wasn’t even a knick left behind where her blade had kissed the clasp.

“Well, if that didn’t do it, I don’t know what would,” Lonnell said, clearly impressed by the force Janine had put behind the swing.

“I’m out of ideas.” The dwarven woman rested the eye of her ax on the floor.

“Maybe we could just take the whole thing,” Azure suggested, making it sound more like a question. “I bet Garion could get it open.”

“Maybe.” Lonnell rubbed his jaw.

“Come on. Help me.” Azure sheathed his sword and went to try to lift the chest. There was no space under it for his fingers, and when he tried to wiggle it off of the pedestal to gain purchase, it wouldn’t budge. It was like the chest was cemented in place. Either that or it weighed about a million pounds.

“Put your back into it.” Lonnell heaved with all of his might.

“You put your back into it. The damn thing obviously isn’t going to move.”

Letting out a breath of exhaustion, they both gave up, simply standing there staring at the chest again.

“Well, shit. I don’t know what else to do.” Azure’s eyes shifted to Lonnell.

“I’m not sure there’s anything we can do. We can’t open it, and we can’t move it. The fact that it has a lock means that there must be a key for it somewhere.”

“I’m going to take a shot in the dark that it’s in the other room.” Janine’s entire body slumped as she said it.

“That’s the only thing that makes sense.” Azure agreed.

The chest was a tease. Of course, nothing in The Realm came without effort. If they wanted the contents, they would have to work for them.

“So I guess we’re going into the other room.”

“I guess so,” Lonnell concurred grumpily before turning to Janine. “Are you coming with us or are you going to stay in here and cower?”

She arched an eyebrow. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re an asshole? Because you kind of are.”

Azure smirked. “Come on. Let’s go. We won’t know what horrors await until we enter the other room.” His eyes widened for dramatic effect.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE REALM – Day 73

As before, Lonnell took point. Azure stood behind him with his weapon ready, and Janine manned the rear, her eyes ever scanning the hallway for rats. Right now, they felt like more of a threat to her than anything else in the dungeon. That was...until Lonnell opened the door with the light streaming under it.

The room was quite a bit larger than the one with the chest, about the size of a master bedroom. Untouched by time, the paint was in perfect condition, and there were no holes at the base of the walls like there were in the hall and the other room. There was a sparse bit of, what Azure assumed to be, furniture covered with sheets. One piece looked like it might be a sofa. The other, he had no clue. Portraits of children decorated two of the walls. But they were not the focal point. Despite there being candles in sconces, the lighting was an eerie shade of blue which seemed to emanate from a ghostly figure standing at the back of the room. Its limbs were too long to be human, and it was shrouded in a white robe that completely covered its face and hung to the floor in smoky swirls. Thankfully, it made no attempt to attack as they stood outside staring at it.

“Oh, hell no,” Janine whispered behind Azure, backing away.

He quickly activated Analyze to get a better idea of what they were up against.

Level 11 Door Spirit.

“It’s only level 11,” Azure whispered to Lonnell. “We should be able to take it.”

“I’m not sure that will be necessary. It’s not attacking.”

For several seconds they all just stood there contemplating what to do. Then Azure stepped up beside Lonnell. “Spirit. You wouldn’t happen to know where the key to that chest is, would you?” He thumbed back to the other room.

“Enter if you dare,” came the reply in a heavy bass that sounded of pure doom and foreboding.

“I think we shouldn’t dare.” Janine tugged on Azure’s arm.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Lonnell told her, his voice strangely calm.

“What happens if we enter?” Azure asked hesitantly.

The spirit did not reply.

“I think we have to defeat it to get the key,” Lonnell said.

That seemed fairly obvious.

“Then, I guess we dare.”

Azure mustered up the courage to enter the room. As soon as he did, the ghostly form rushed forward. You’re going to regret that, he thought cockily, raising his hand to cast Dirty Move. Dirt flew through the spirit. If it had any effect, Azure couldn’t tell because the ghost swiped out at him, the blow to his chest knocking him off of his feet. His back hit the wall with near crushing force, causing him to exhale all the air in his lungs in a powerful gasp.

Level 11 Door Spirit delivers 55 damage.

Azure fell to the side, landing hard on his shoulder.

Lonnell rounded the spirit, striking at it from behind. His staff passed through the apparition as if he was fighting the wind.

A clawed backhand sent him sailing in the opposite direction, hitting one of the paintings and causing it to shake on its nail.

Clearly not threatened by them, the ghost waited for both Adventurers to right themselves. Facing Azure, it floated in the middle of the room.

Janine refused to enter, still standing outside looking in.

As soon as Azure was on his feet again, the spirit rushed forward, swiping at him a second time. He quickly drew his sword, trying to use it to block the attack, but the hand went right through, raking searing pain across his skin. Glancing down, Azure could see the marks left behind, his armor scored.

Critical Hit! Level 11 Door Spirit delivers 65 damage.

“Come at me!” Lonnell growled at the ghost, lunging forward with his staff. The power he put into the swing made him lose his balance when the weapon passed right through it, and he ended up standing in the middle of the spirit.

Panic welled up inside of Azure as he watched his friend convulse as if being electrocuted. He rushed forward, grabbing Lonnell by the arm to pull him away. As soon as Lonnell was dislodged for the ghost’s body, it swung at them again, hitting Azure’s right shoulder and sending them both toppling over like dominoes.

Level 11 Door Spirit delivers 55 damage.

“Retreat!” Azure cried to get Janine to move out of the way. His Health bar was blinking red in the corner of his vision, and he felt like he might pass out at any second. It was taking everything in him to get them to safety.

At some point, Lonnell recovered. Then it was him dragging Azure out of the room.

The spirit swiped at them a final time but missed thanks to Azure tripping from weakness. Had the hit landed, it would have been fatal.

As soon as they were in the hallway, Janine quickly slammed the door behind them, pressing her back against it in the hopes that it would keep the ghost locked inside. It seemed to work, because the monster didn’t give chase.

With Azure under his arm, Lonnell retreated toward the stairs. As if they couldn’t catch a break, two more rats came streaming from the holes in the walls. Lonnell’s eyes drifted to them. Now he was the one panicking. If they got to Azure before he was able to drink a healing potion, he wouldn’t survive.

Abandoning Azure on the stairs, Lonnell turned to face the oncoming enemies. It was strange to think that something so small was so dangerous, but that was the case with a lot of monsters in The Realm. Instead of going for the kill, Lonnell used his staff like a golf club and batted one of the rats down the hall before focusing his attention on the one that had just rushed past him, clearly going for their injured party member.

Azure had never seen him fight so viciously, slamming the butt of his staff down on the rat’s body thrice in quick succession. Time wasn’t on his side. The other rat would likely be on Lonnell before he turned around.

A war cry came from a few yards away, and they both looked to see Janine cleaving the second rat in half. If Azure wasn’t so busy stuffing his face hole with healing potions, he would have smiled.

“Are you all right?” Janine rushed to his side as soon as she was certain that the rat was dead.

Azure had just taken down his third Potion of Minor Healing. The dwarven woman reached into her bag for a fourth, offering it to him.

“You did it,” he praised her.

“I didn’t feel like I had a choice.” She ignored the pride in his voice, all focus on making sure that Azure got the healing he needed.

Lonnell started downing healing potions as well. That fight had been unexpectedly difficult.

Four healing potions had only managed to increase Azure’s Health to 145 points. He felt like he’d been hit by a freight train. His shoulder was bruised, there was a deep wound across his chest, and the pain in his ankle was still pulsing.

“This sucks,” he remarked plainly, resting back against the stairs.

Janine chuckled. “Yes, it most certainly does.” Then her expression went serious. “You need to heal up more.”

“I only have eighteen more healing items.”

She shook her head at him. “Do you always enter dungeons ill-prepared?”

“Yes, he does,” Lonnell answered for Azure with a bit of a smirk. “I seriously don’t know how he’s survived this long.”

“You and Uden have had a lot to do with it,” Azure confessed.

“It’s our job to help each other.” Lonnell turned his gaze to Janine. “Thank you for stepping up. I’m honestly not sure I would have been able to stop both rats in time.”

“Of course.” Janine gave a brief nod. “You both would have done the same for me.” She cocked her head to the side, thinking for a moment. “And you’re right,” she looked at Azure, “they’re not any different than killing anything else.”

“I’m glad you see that now.” He smiled for a moment before his face went slack. “Well, that was not as easy as I had thought it would be.”

“No. Not easy at all.” Lonnell knelt to loot the rat he had killed.

“At least it didn’t follow us out.” Janine watched Lonnell but made no move to loot her own downed foe.

“I think it’s bound to that room,” he told her.

“That’s lucky for us.” Azure huffed.

“Yes. But we didn’t get the key. I wonder if it's in a chest under one of those sheets.” Lonnell stood and faced the door. Light and a soft fog streamed out from beneath it again.

“Whatever the case, there’s no getting around that ghost. We need to figure out how to defeat it.”

Currently, Azure’s bigger concern was the rats. If this was like other dungeons, they’d re-spawn over time. Janine now being able to fight them should take some of the burden off of he and Lonnell, but Azure doubted they’d all get through another round unscathed. The sooner they could press on, the better.

“Did you notice anything interesting about the room?” Lonnell asked, his gaze distant as if he was thinking even as he spoke.

“Nothing but the covered furniture. But again, there’s no getting past that ghost. I don’t have enough Health to try a second time without depleting my potion supply, and that’s probably not a smart move on level one.”

“Maybe we should have searched the mansion for healing potions before we entered the dungeon,” Janine suggested. “Or at least have asked for some. I’m sure Radclyffe has some lying around somewhere.”

“So you are a thief!” Lonnell pointed at her.

“Oh, not this again.” She rolled her eyes.

“Most people don’t give handouts here,” Azure told her, trying to pull Janine away from the impending argument.

She placed a hand on her hip. “Maybe not to you, but I’m a girl.”

Now it was Azure fighting not to roll his eyes.

“Listen, we’re at the start of the dungeon anyway. I’m going to head back upstairs and see if I can find anything. We’re clearly going to need it. Meanwhile, you guys can figure out how to defeat that ghost.” Not waiting for a response, Janine moved past Azure up the stairs.

“You’re not going to loot your kill?” Azure’s gaze dropped to the rat that Janine had left behind.

She visibly shivered as she looked back down the stairs at the bloody corpse. “I’ll kill em’, but I ain’t touchin’ em.’ Help yourself,” Janine said before disappearing out the door.

“It’s all yours.” Azure gestured to the rat. Lonnell had earned the loot for saving him.

He didn’t argue, bending to cut the tail from the rat with his dagger. “If the first level of this dungeon is this hard, I hate to think what the rest of it is going to be like.”

“You and me both.” Azure hesitated. “Not having second thoughts, are you?”

“No.” Lonnell shook his head. “Every riddle has an answer.”

Not in his world. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

“Maybe we’re not meant to fight it,” Azure suggested.

“Maybe.” He stood and placed the tail in his Bag of Holding.

“Maybe you should go try to talk to it. It didn’t attack us when we opened the door. Only when we went inside.”

“True.” Lonnell’s head bobbed a few times.

“So...go talk to it.” Azure gestured for him to get on with it.

“What if it does attack?”

“Then run. And if I see you running and it follows you out of the room, I’ll run too.”

“Where would we run to?” His gaze shifted around the dungeon. “There aren’t many places to go.”

“Up the stairs.” Azure pointed behind him. It seemed like the obvious answer. “It definitely can’t get us up there.”

“We hope it can’t get us up there.” Lonnell let out a bitter laugh.

“Dungeon rules.” Azure lifted his eyebrows and pressed his lips together.

He sighed. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t attack.” And with that, Lonnell began walking back toward the door with the light streaming under it.

Azure watched from afar as his friend stood there, squaring his shoulders in preparation. It was like Lonnell already expected to have to run. The way he leaned over a bit too far to reach the handle was amusing. If the situation wasn’t so serious, Azure might have chuckled.

Slowly, Lonnell pulled the door open. Then he straightened himself again, his focus entirely on the monster inside of the room.

“Is it doing anything?” Azure asked.

“No.” Lonnell didn’t dare to turn his gaze away. He cleared his throat. “Spirit. What can we do to appease you?”

“Enter if you dare,” came the ominous voice again.

“We have no wish to enter. This is clearly your domain. We only seek guidance.”

So proper. Azure couldn’t help but snigger.

The ghost did not answer.

After a few seconds, Lonnell spoke again. “Please, spirit. I implore you to answer me. We do not wish to offend.”

No response.

He tried a different approach. “Do you know anything about Radclyffe Smithe? He is the current owner of this mansion. He entered the basement and has not returned. We came down here to find him.”

Still nothing.

Lonnell chanced glancing over at Azure and shrugged. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“Ask him which came first, the chicken or the egg,” he teased, but Lonnell didn’t find it funny at all.

With nothing else to do, Lonnell shut the door and returned to the stairs.

“Did you notice anything you hadn’t noticed the first time around?” Azure questioned, hoping for some clues, though he was pretty sure that his friend would have offered them up already if there had been any.

“No.” Lonnell shook his head. “I’m at a loss.”

“So, what do we do now?” Azure sighed, shifting his weight and trying to get more comfortable. Sitting down was nice after all the walking they had done.

Going back upstairs and bedding down for the night was starting to seem like a good idea. They weren’t making any progress. Might as well give up and try again tomorrow.

“Wait for Janine to return. If she does return.” Lonnell didn’t sound so sure.

“And then?”

“Move on.” He gestured to the door at the end of the hall. “I’m out of ideas on how to deal with that spirit. But we should at least see if we can handle whatever is on the next level.”

“And if we can’t? If killing this particular spirit is critical to the success of the quest?” Azure didn’t like the idea of descending into the dungeon only to have to backtrack later. That would just waste more time that they didn’t have.

“We’ll just have to figure it out then,” his voice was laden with an equal mix of exhaustion and stress.

Azure felt it as well. He hated this dungeon already. “How long should we wait for her?”

“This mansion is huge. If she’s really going to go plundering through it, it will probably take a while. We shouldn’t have let her go.”

Almost as soon as Lonnell had finished speaking, they heard the sound of the door at the top of the stairs opening. Both men looked up to see Janine coming toward them with a smile on her face and a handful of vials.

“Told you my feminine wiles would pay off.” She slapped three vials into Azure’s hand.

You have received the following items:

Potion of Minor Healing

Quantity: 3

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Heals 30 HP.

“Drink up, buttercup.” Janine reached the bottom of the stairs, then turned to face him and placed her hands on her hips.

“So...you didn’t steal those?” Lonnell asked hesitantly.

“No!” Janine glared at him. “I asked Janora for them.”

“Who is Janora?” He quirked an eyebrow.

“The servant who escorted us here.”

Were feminine wiles effective on other women? Azure wasn’t sure how that worked. He also didn’t know what Janine’s sexual preferences were, but considering that she had children, he had assumed she was into men. Whatever the case, he wasn’t one to judge.

“Did you guys figure out how to beat the ghost?” She looked from Azure to Lonnell as Azure drank the healing potions one at a time.

“No.” Lonnell’s expression drooped.

“So now what are we going to do?”

Azure stood, feeling almost 100% better. Finally, he could walk without his ankle being in pain. What was left of his chest injury was barely a scab. “Lonnell decided that we should press on.”

“All right. Then we press on.” Janine nodded, clearly still proud that she had been more useful these past thirty minutes than the two men. “Are you good now, Will?”

Will. It felt so strange hearing his real name.

“Will?” Lines formed between Lonnell’s eyebrows.

“It’s a nickname. Don’t worry about it.” He waved his friend’s confusion away.

Janine lifted a hand to her mouth. “Am I not supposed to call you Will?”

The conversation made him feel awkward. Will technically was his real name, but no one had called him that since he had come to The Realm. “You can call me whichever you prefer,” Azure told her with a soft smile.

“Then I’ll call you William.” An ear to ear grin spread across Janine’s face. “I prefer it over Will. Sounds more regal, and it fits a handsome man such as yourself much better.” She winked at him, causing Azure’s cheeks to heat up.

Handsome, huh? He wished he could throw a similar compliment back, but he wasn’t much into dwarven women. It did make him wonder what Janine had looked like before all this, though. Azure certainly no longer had the same visage as Will Galvan. She must be different in his world as well.

“We should get going.” He walked past them toward the end of the hall.

A squeaking sound was heard before a singular rat ran out from one of the holes. As if to prove she was no longer afraid, Janine jogged around Azure to get to the front. She flailed her ax, chopping at the rat like a madwoman. The second the rat reached her and bit the toe of her boot, Janine was the one squealing and falling back.

With a chuckle on his lips, Azure moved in to finish the small creature off. She had managed to sever one of its legs, but it was still scurrying pretty well on its remaining three limbs. Not well enough to avoid the stab to its soft body, however.

Defeated Level 10 Rat. 70XP rewarded.

“Son of a bitch! That shit hurt! And that one bite shaved off a quarter of my health!” Janine quickly reached into her bag for a healing potion.

“They’re nasty little things.” Azure knelt to loot the corpse.

You have received the following item:

Rat Tail

Quantity: 1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.0 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

When they were about four feet away from the door at the end of the hall, a white mist began to form in front of it, causing them all to stop and take a few steps back.

“Oh great, what now?” Janine readied her ax.

Both men followed suit, holding their weapons in front of them in preparation for a fight. As they stood there, the mist began to take on the form of a body. The features of an old man with a long white beard and droopy eyes slowly became visible. This was not like the ghost from the other room, though. While it was clearly a spirit, there was no ominous energy pouring from the entity.

“Who goes there?” the ghost said in a raspy voice.

Azure quickly Analyzed it.

Level 62 Protector of the Basement.

Level 62!? What in the hell!? This ghost was the strongest monster that Azure had seen in The Realm so far. The strongest anything, really.

“Spirit,” Lonnell began in the same tone he had used with the door spirit—the same one that made Azure want to make fun of him. “We are Adventurers sent from The Adventurers Guild to find Radclyffe Smithe, the current owner of this mansion. He entered the basement and hasn’t been seen since.”

The protector drew a hand up to his mouth and coughed. “Oh? A mortal man did pass through here several days ago.”

“He did?” Lonnell vocalized with the same excitement that they were all feeling from the information.

“Yes. Not a very bright one, that one...” the ghost’s voice trailed off into a mumble.

“What makes you say that?” Azure raised a brow.

“Well, for one, he refused my aid.” The protector puffed out his chest, though it quickly deflated again.

“What kind of aid were you offering?” Lonnell asked hesitantly.

“Well, the kind that would get you through a ghost-infested basement, of course.” The spirit turned from side to side as if he meant to gesture but was too lazy.

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re alluding to,” Azure said.

“I’m talking about this, of course.” Reaching into his robe, the ghost pulled out a gaudy gold amulet with a large green stone in the center. The chain was so thick it looked like it should belong to a pair of shackles instead of a piece of jewelry. Algae green was the stone with the same black cracks and speckling as a piece of unrefined turquoise. It was housed in a diamond-shaped gold bracket with swirls all over it.

“And what exactly is that?” Confusion was plain in Lonnell’s voice. It was like they were having to painfully bleed details out of the old ghost.

“It is the Amulet of the Underdead,” the ghost said majestically, then followed it up with a long “Woooooooooo,” and a wiggle of his fingers.

This ghost has jokes, Azure thought, unamused.

“You mean Undead,” Janine quickly corrected him.

“No, I mean Underdead.” The protector allowed the amulet to drop from his hand and fall back under his robe. “That idiot who came through here refused to take it from me.”

“Why would he do that?” Lonnell narrowed his eyes.

“Because I told him he’d have to use it to defeat Old Grumpy in there before I’d let him have it.” The spirit pointed to the door with the light streaming beneath it.

“So what you’re saying is that we could pass through the door without taking the amulet?” Janine gestured in a circular motion.

“Yes, but I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to fight the spirits in the basement,” the ghost warned. “I watched your little fiasco earlier, and I must say that it was rather amusing watching you flee for your lives.”

It was clear by their dropped expressions that the Adventurers didn’t find that funny at all.

“Might have noticed that you couldn’t land a hit on Old Grumpy.” The protector smiled.

“Yeah, we noticed,” Azure replied dryly, still remembering the feeling of having his breath knocked out of him when the door spirit slammed him against the wall.

“That’s because he’s a ghost, and you’re not,” he said matter-of-factly.

“So how do we solve this problem?” Lonnell motioned for him to continue, clearly becoming impatient.

“With this!” The protector held up the amulet again.

“Yes, yes, but how do we use it? What does it do?”

“Oh,” the spirit stumbled over his words, mumbling to himself again, “I suppose it would be helpful to know how it worked, wouldn’t it.”

“Very helpful.” Even Janine was starting to sound irritated.

“Well, you see,” he held the amulet up even higher so that it slowly spun on its chain, “this big stone is a materializer. It turns ghosts solid so that you can hit them with your hitty sticks.”

Hitty sticks. Azure chuckled under his breath.

Lonnell wasn’t interested in the joke. “So you’re saying that if we use that amulet on ghosts before we fight them, we’ll be able to hit them with our weapons.”

“Ohhh, you’re a good parrot.” The protector nodded.

This time, Azure couldn’t surprise a laugh. “All right, old man. We’ll take it.” He reached out to take the amulet, but the ghost quickly snatched it away.

“Not so fast, young Adventurer.”

There was a catch? Of course, there was.

“I’ll only allow you to borrow it for now. To take it off of this floor, you must prove to me that you know how to use it. I think you know what I want you to do.” The protector lifted a bushy eyebrow, revealing a milky white eyeball beneath. Azure wasn’t sure if a ghost could be blind. He had said he’d witnessed the battle, but he sure looked blind.

“Okay. So we defeat Grumpy back there,” Azure thumbed behind them, “and you let us take the amulet with us.”

“Yes.” He nodded again. “But know that once you leave the basement, the amulet will automatically return to me. You can’t keep it as loot...” his voice trailed off into a mumble again. “It’s mine.”

“Got it.” Azure gave him a thumbs up before holding out his palm. “So...can we get the amulet now? We want to kill that spirit back there as much as you want it dead. There’s something in that room that we need.”

Hesitating for a moment, the old ghost pulled the amulet from around his neck and handed it to Azure. As soon as he did, Azure turned to his companions. “Who wants it?”

You have received the following item:

Amulet of the Underdead

Type: Jewelry

Durability: 10/10

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Traits: Quest Item. Point at a ghost to make it materialize.

“Ohhh, I kinda do. But I don't know how to use it.” Janine looked at the amulet with greedy eyes.

“It’s easy, young lady,” the protector told her. “You simply point the stone at whatever ghost you want to materialize, and it will materialize. Works in a snap.” He snapped his fingers, but no sound was heard.

“Sounds easy enough.” Janine took the amulet from Azure and placed it around her neck. She admired it for several seconds, her fingers petting over the stone and goldwork before picking it up and pointing the stone at the protector.

Nothing happened.

A chuckle erupted from his chest. “Nice try, my dear. But do you really think I’d make an amulet that worked on me?”

She frowned. “I was just trying it out. How am I supposed to know if it works otherwise?”

“Blind faith, my dear.” He pointed to one eye. “Good luck. If you don’t defeat the door spirit and try to pass through this door anyway, the amulet will disappear. This is your only chance to obtain the amulet. Don’t fuck it up.” And with that, the protector faded back into the mist he had come from.

CHAPTER SIX

THE REALM – Day 73

“You know, to use that amulet, you’re going to have to actually go into the room with the ghost,” Lonnell gently reminded Janine. It was clear that he thought handing the amulet over to her had been a bad idea.

She clasped it firmly in her fist. “I am well aware of that.”

“Well then, ladies first.” He gestured for her to lead the way to the ominous door.

“You know, that doesn’t necessarily mean she has to go first.” Azure cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Lonnell.

“It, at the very least, means that the two of you need to enter the room at the same time. There’s no point in playing human shield when you can’t defend yourself.” Annoyed with both of them, Lonnell took long strides to the door, placing his hand on the handle as he waited for his comrades to catch up.

Azure turned to Janine. “All right, so the plan is this. He’s going to open the door, you’re going to step inside, use the amulet, and then jump back. I’ll take over from there.”

“We’ll take over from there,” Lonnell corrected him. “As it should be. This is a group effort.”

Azure glanced over at him. “Once the door spirit is materialized, you and I should be able to handle it. There’s no reason for her to get involved unless things get dicey.”

Janine’s grip tightened around the amulet as if she was drawing strength from it. “I don’t mind. All for one. One for all.” Nervous laughter left her lips.

“All for one. One for all.” Azure smiled at her.

“What are you two yammering on about?” Lonnell asked.

“I’m starting to think that ghost was talking about you when he was saying we needed to defeat Grumpy.” Janine narrowed her eyes at him.

Ignoring her jab, Azure explained, “It's from a book called The Three Musketeers. You'd probably love it.”

His expression turned contemplative. “What’s a musketeer?”

“Oh, never mind.” Janine pushed past Azure. “Let’s just get this over with. Open the door.” She squared herself in front of it much like Lonnell had the last time he’d come to face the door spirit.

“On the count of three,” Azure told Lonnell, drawing his Bergen’s Glaive and readying it to attack.

“One,” Lonnell began, his head bowing slightly after each number, “two...” The three was silent.

He thrust open the door, and Janine took two long strides forward, though her face was pinched as if she were shielding her eyes from the light. There was no sound, but the blue illumination coming from the room quickly died out. Half a second later, Janine jogged back, not stopping until she reached the other side of the hall. That was Azure and Lonnell’s cue to roll in.

The door spirit didn’t look any less ghostly than before. Its imposing frame rushed toward them, though this time when it lashed out, its bony arm connected with the steal of Azure’s blade.

“Looks like it worked,” he said with relief, drawing his sword back to swing at the apparition.

For as fearsome as it had been when they first entered the room, Azure and Lonnell were able to make quick work of their foe. The strength of its attack came from long limbs that swiped the air quickly, but they were no match against a sharpened blade. Azure cleaved one of the spirit’s arms off while Lonnell bashed it in the skull with his staff. If the monster was in pain, there was no indication. Upon Azure stabbing it through the chest, it sank to his feet, its robe billowing out.

Defeated Level 11 Door Spirit. 88XP rewarded.

“Well, that was surprisingly easy.” Azure hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“Don’t complain.” Lonnell sliced him with side-eye.

“That was definitely not a complaint considering that I almost died last time. Actually, I think it’s rather fair.”

“I don’t know about that.” Lonnell knelt next to the wilted spirit and began rummaging through its robe for the key.

Janine was already busy flipping through her bestiary. “I don’t see a listing for door spirits in here.”

“The key isn’t on it.” Frowning, Lonnell stood.

“I suppose we have to search the room then.” Without reservations, Azure walked over to start pulling the sheets off of the furniture. All they found were a sofa and an old piano. “I’m not sure what I expected,” he admitted, crossing his arms over his chest and stroking his chin as he looked at the furniture.

“Well, the key has to be in here somewhere.” Lonnell began inspecting the sofa, then he turned to Janine. “Check behind the paintings. Azure, you look inside of the piano.”

Azure wasn’t thrilled with what he’d been tasked with. He knew nothing about pianos. Still, he approached the instrument and lifted the top.

There were lots of strings and pegs and absolutely nothing that looked like a key...unless one of these things was the key? After scrutinizing for several seconds, Azure confessed, “I don’t know what in the hell I’m looking for. Someone trade me spots.”

Lonnell’s head popped up. “I don’t know anything about pianos either.”

“I’ll look,” Janine offered. “There wasn’t anything behind the paintings anyway.”

The sound of ripping filled the room as Lonnell took out a blade to slice open the sofa cushions.

Damn, he's going about this pretty hardcore, Azure thought as he stared at his friend.

“Don’t dawdle,” Lonnell paused to chastise him. “Cut the canvas off the paintings. There might be something inside.” He gestured with his knife toward the portraits.

“Are you sure we’re not going to piss off any more ghosts doing this?” Azure scratched at his face, hesitating to do as he was told. Somehow, it felt wrong to deface the portraits.

Lonnell gave him an incredulous look. “What does it matter? We have the amulet now.”

Shrugging, he got to work taking each painting from the wall and cutting them from their frames. A boy and a girl around the same age, the portraits of the children were unsmiling, both sitting with their hands folded in their laps like proper little dolls. Azure could only assume they had been Digsby’s children.

Coming up empty-handed only made him feel worse about defacing the paintings. “I’ve got nothing.”

“I don’t see anything in here either.” Janine’s head moved around as she continued to peek inside of the piano. Now that he thought about it, she was probably the last person that should have been inspecting it. Due to her shortness, she was on her tiptoes, having to move around the whole piano to see everything. Even then, he was sure she had missed a few spots.

As if in sync with his thoughts, Lonnell went to give the piano a final look over. Janine glared at him as if he thought her incompetent. “It has to be in here somewhere,” he insisted, walking back to the sofa. “Azure, help me lift this.”

They turned the sofa onto its side, but there was nothing beneath it. Then Lonnell began checking the floorboards for cracks or weaknesses. When that produced no results, he ran his hands along the walls. He was, Azure thought, impressively thorough.

After about thirty more minutes of searching, Lonnell surrendered with a sigh. “It’s not here.”

“Then where else would it be? It’s not like there’s much on this level,” Azure said.

“Maybe the protector is supposed to give it to us?” Janine suggested.

“It’s the only other viable option,” Lonnell agreed, leading the way to the door.

They exited the room and walked down the hall, fully expecting the protector to materialize from the mist. But there was no mist no matter how close to the door they got.

Azure placed his hand on the door handle. “Maybe he’s on the other side.”

Opening the door led to another set of stairs going down to the next level. There was no protector.

“Well, that sucks.” Janine sulked.

Lonnell blew out a breath and pressed his fingers to his temples. “We have to be overlooking something.”

Words hesitated to leave Azure’s mouth. “I don’t think we are. We literally just tore that room apart.”

“Then it has to be back in the room with the chest.”

“Oh!” Janine perked up. “Or maybe we don’t need a key at all. Perhaps defeating the door ghost unlocked the chest.”

“Of course!” Lonnell seemed to renew instantly. “That has to be it.”

Feeling triumphant, they hurriedly strode to the room with the chest, eager to discover the prize inside. When they entered, the first thing they noticed was that the lock was still attached. A good tug didn’t open it. Nor did trying to pry it off.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Lonnell stomped his foot, his stress coming back full force.

“I don’t get it.” Janine shook her head.

“Let’s check the walls and floor in here. We might have missed something.” Azure tapped lightly on the floor with the ball of his foot, then moved a few inches over to the next wood plank.

Thirty more minutes of searching produced nothing. Defeated, the Adventurers reconvened in the middle of the room.

“All right,” Azure began. “I don’t think the key is on this level. If it were, surely we would have found it by now.”

“It just doesn’t make any sense.” Lonnell continued to stare at the chest as if searching for something he had missed.

“I don’t know how any of this dungeon stuff works,” Janine confessed. “But are we sure that what’s inside of this chest is important enough for us to be spending so much time on it?”

“There’s really no way to know until we see what’s inside,” Azure told her.

“She’s right.” Lonnell walked over to the chest. “There could be nothing worthwhile in it. We should just forget about it for now.” He turned back to them. “It’s late anyway. We should get some rest before moving on to the second level.”

“I don’t know if we should sleep in here.” Janine hugged herself. “There are perfectly good beds upstairs.”

“If we leave the dungeon, it will reset. Won’t it?” Azure looked to Lonnell for confirmation.

“More than likely. I know it’s not ideal, but we should stay down here.”

Janine’s eyes fell to the holes at the base of the wall. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep knowing that we’ll probably have to fend off rats all night.”

Azure followed her gaze, quirking his head slightly. “I’m not so sure that’s true. Technically, we should have been attacked by rats again when we re-entered this room.”

“That’s right,” Lonnell acknowledged. Now all three of them were staring at the holes. “Maybe this dungeon is a little different than other ones.”

“It’s definitely different.” For one, it wasn’t in a cave. They also hadn’t had to walk forever to reach the next level. Everything was fairly compact.

“Maybe that means we can leave and come back.” Janine sounded hopeful, desperately wanting a bed.

“I don’t think we’ll be that lucky.” Lonnell stared at the door.

“Then maybe we can at least sleep in the room without the holes in the walls. I’m sorry, but if you expect me to sleep, it won’t be in here.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Let’s go to the other room.” Azure nodded his head in the direction of the room they’d just destroyed. His eyelids were growing heavy, and he was more than ready to sleep.

“What if the door spirit respawned?” Lonnell gave him a serious look.

“Then we’ll beat it again. That couch fluff looked like it will make a decent bed.” A lazy smile lit up his face.

“All right,” he agreed, and they filed out of the room.

The fact that there was no blue light streaming beneath the other door was a good indication that the door spirit hadn’t respawned. However, when Azure opened the door, he still gave pause and gasped.

“What is it?” Janine leaned around him to see.

Everything they had vandalized had been restored and was now back in its original place. For some reason, Azure found that incredibly creepy. It almost made him want to take his chances with the rats. But that sofa was just calling his name.

“Yay! Janine pushed past him, tearing the sheet off of the sofa and throwing herself onto it. “This is probably a better reward than whatever is in that chest.” She quickly made herself comfortable.

Lonnell and Azure shared a look and a grin. To some degree, she was right.

While Azure thought that Lonnell would argue that Janine should take the first watch since she’d done the least amount of work, her Stamina was the most depleted from fighting monsters on their journey to the mansion. In the best shape of them all, Lonnell settled down in a corner to take the first shift.

Janine was snoring before Azure was even able to get settled on the floor. He cast an annoyed look in her direction, hoping he’d be able to sleep through it. Never had he ever heard someone snore so loudly before.

“The joys of traveling with a dwarf,” Lonnell whispered to him with a small chuckle.

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE REALM – Day 74

Being gentlemen, they allowed Janine to take the couch for both of her sleeping shifts. Azure got it once, and Lonnell seemed content on the floor. For as rocky as things had gone during the day, they had approached the guarding and sleeping arrangements with no drama.

When they left the room in the morning, they were happy to find the hallway free of rats. There was no protector to greet them as they made their way to the door at the end of the hall, and The Amulet of the Underdead was still securely around Janine’s neck which meant they had passed the protector’s test.

Descending the stairs brought them to another hallway, this one with three doors on each side. The Adventurers stopped when they poured out onto the level. Standing before them a few feet away was another ghost, this one that of the little girl from one of the portraits in the door ghost room. Drained of all color, her long hair fell over her shoulders, held away from her face by an oversized bow pinned to the back of her head. The volume of the skirt of her dress made her look like a doll.

Cautiously, Janine lifted the amulet toward the girl. Just like with the protector, nothing happened. “I wonder if it’s broken,” she mumbled, shaking the amulet for good measure and trying again.

“Spirit,” Lonnell began in the voice that made Azure stifle a chuckle, “what do you want?”

The little girl said nothing. She simply stared at them.

“She’s creepy,” Janine whispered to Azure, clutching onto his side.

Azure took a few steps forward, and the ghost ran into the first room on the right, disappearing through the door.

Janine shuddered. “Should we follow her?”

“I think we’re meant to.” Lonnell’s gaze was fixed on a grandfather clock at the end of the hall. It was the only piece of furniture, and there were no wall hangings.

“This level has a different feel to it,” Azure noted.

Divided in half with a thick white line, the top of the walls were an off-white color while the bottom was painted in checkered tiles of blue. The floor was made of gray stone slabs, giving the place a more dungeony feel. Blessedly, there were no holes in the walls, so the Adventurers shouldn’t have to worry about rats.

“Who cares? Let’s go.” Lonnell pushed past his comrades to follow the girl into the room.

“Be careful.” Janine reached up a hand as if she wanted to pull him back, then stopped.

They stood in front of the door, drawing their weapons in preparation for whatever was inside. Lonnell threw open the door only to find the room empty save for some furniture covered in sheets. The little girl was nowhere to be seen.

Janine blew out a breath of relief, and they all filed into the room to inspect it.

“There's nothing here.” Azure peeked under one of the sheets.

This particular room appeared to be a bedroom. The only furniture inside were two wooden beds and a chair in the corner, none of which were as luxe as the rest of the furniture they’d seen in the mansion.

“Are we going to tear this room apart, too?” Janine was already pulling her dagger from her belt.

Lonnell cast his gaze down on her. “No. Let’s wait. Though I’m already getting a strong feeling that we’ll be coming back here. It’s rare that there’s a room in a dungeon for no reason.”

“But it does happen?” she asked.

“Yes. It’s usually meant to throw people off-track or waste their time, but it does happen.”

“Like that chest.” Azure’s eyes widened.

Lonnell shook his head. “I still don’t feel good about that chest.”

“None of us do. It was too fancy to not be important.” He sighed. “But there’s nothing that can be done about it for now. Unless we’re supposed to be looking for the key, we have no more business in this room. Let’s check the rest and then decide what to do from there.” Azure turned to lead them out of the room.

As soon as he did, the girl materialized again in the hallway. She was turned facing the entrance to the level, which he found to be incredibly unsettling. It was like she was staring at something they couldn’t see, her expression joyless and blank.

“Uh, guys. That ghost just appeared again.” He flicked his finger toward her.

This time, Janine stomped around him, placing her hands on her hips in exasperation. “What do you want?”

The little girl turned to her for half a second, then darted into the room across the hall. Janine’s whole body slumped as she sighed.

“I’m pretty sure she just wants us to follow her,” Lonnell surmised.

“This is kind of annoying.” The dwarven woman walked over to the next door.

“At least she’s not scared of them anymore,” Azure cast back to Lonnell who nodded in agreement.

Janine waited for the boys to catch up. Though she didn’t seem to be afraid of the ghosts anymore, she also didn’t seem willing to take point in entering any of the rooms.

Since none of the rooms seemed particularly ominous—no fog or light coming from beneath any of the doors—Azure didn’t hesitate to open the door. This room was the same size as the previous one, but instead of furniture, there were three piles of skeletal remains on the floor, each with their own weapon.

“Well, those are about to come to life,” he predicted only seconds before the piles began to move. As Azure drew his Bergen’s Glaive and prepared to attack, he quickly Analyzed each one.

Level 5 Rickety Skeleton.

Level 5 Rickety Skeleton.

Level 5 Rickety Skeleton.

This will be easy.

“I've got this,” he told the group, stepping in to make short work of their foes.

“I want to help!” Janine pushed past him with all the enthusiasm she had exuded during their trip to the mansion.

Swinging her ax like a lunatic, bone fragments flew into the air as she connected each hit. Azure was barely able to take one of the skeletons down before she was done with her two.

Defeated Level 5 Rickety Skeleton. 35XP rewarded.

“You should have let me get all three of them.” She frowned at him. “I’m the one who needs the experience.”

He thought for a moment and decided that Janine was right. The lowest level of the group, Azure should have just left the skeletons to her. “I’ll tell you what,” he said as she pulled out her bestiary to see if anything else was lootable besides the weapons, “if we encounter anything below a level 8, it’s all you from now on.”

She nodded in approval before slamming the book shut and stuffing it back in her bag. “Just the weapons. If one is unarmed, it should leave bone chips behind.”

All three skeletons had weapons, so there were no bone chips to collect. Azure knelt to pick up the blade his skeleton had been brandishing.

You have received the following item:

Rusty Longsword

Attack: +2-6

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 27/28

Item Class: Common

Quality: Poor

Weight: 7.5 kg

It was worthless to him as a weapon. Probably nothing he picked up would top his Bergen's Glaive for a while. Azure stuck the Rusty Longsword in his Bag of Holding and joined Lonnell outside of the room.

As soon as they had all exited, the little girl appeared again. They didn't bother trying to talk to her this time. It was no use.

When they approached her, she ran into the room on her right. It seemed as if she was going in order.

Opening the next door revealed a similar room to the one on the first level with just a chest inside. Except this one was far less impressive, and there was no lock on it. Made of wood with a rusty metal latch, the chest gave no resistance as Azure flipped the top open. At the bottom of the chest lay a small gold ring with a pink stone in the shape of a heart. Picking it up displayed a notification.

You have received the following item:

Burst of Health Ring

Type: Jewelry

Mana Cost: 0

Range: 100 feet

Durability: 15/15

Item Class: Uncommon

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Mends you or a target's wounds for 5 Health. Spends 1 Durability for each use.

"What is it?" Janine asked, staring wide-eyed in wonder at the ring. Azure handed it over. "Oh, super nice. I want."

"Let me see." Lonnell gestured for the ring. Once she placed it in his hand, he held it up to examine it as if he could see more than what the information box provided. "It's a little weak with only fourteen uses before you'll have to pay to repair it, but I think we all want it." He clasped his hand around the ring and lowered it. "The question is, which one of us gets it."

"I have the lowest Health," Janine said quickly.

"That's just because you're a lower level than us," Azure pointed out.

"And you've allocated your points poorly," Lonnell added.

"I have not!" She scowled at them. Then her features softened. "Have I?"

"We can discuss that next time you level up again." Azure pushed the topic away. "For now, we should decide who gets the ring. Honestly, it's a win no matter who ends up with it because it benefits us all." But of course, he desperately wanted it just as much as the other two.

"So how do we decide?" Lonnell looked from Azure to Janine.

"Flip a coin?" she suggested hesitantly.

"A coin only has two sides. That would be unbalanced. How about we play Rock, Paper, Scissors for it?" Azure offered.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Lonnell parroted. "What's that?"

Janine spent a moment explaining the rules of the game to him. Then they squared off to battle it out for the ring. Azure held his breath as they jointly chanted the words before showing their hands. Both Azure and Janine cringed when Lonnell ended up winning the ring.

“Beginner’s luck.” Azure frowned as he watched Lonnell slip the ring onto his finger.

“It looks good on you.” Janine nudged Lonnell’s shoulder, unable to resist pointing out that the pink heart-shaped stone was not the manliest. Azure doubted that either of them would have cared less about how the ring looked. It’s the benefits it provided that mattered.

I bet it’s worth a lot too, he thought, though he would have had no intentions of selling it if he had won it. Honestly, the ability to heal without having to buy potions or sacrifice Mana was priceless.

As before, as soon as they walked out of the room, the ghost of the little girl appeared.

“I wonder where she’ll go next?” Azure said dryly before watching her run into the next room across the hall.

There was another set of low-level skeletons in the room. Azure and Lonnell stood back while Janine made quick work of them. She leveled up after killing the second skeleton. The excited look on her face made Azure smile.

“Now we can talk about where you should place your points,” he prepared for his lecture as he leaned against the wall to rest while she looted the bodies. “What do the rest of your stats look like? Luck, Charisma, Agility, etcetera.”

Janine paused to pull up her character sheet. “Thirteen across the board.”

His brows arched for a moment. “You really have been working on being balanced.”

Lonnell shook his head.

“What’s wrong with that?” She glanced up at them.

“Well, it’s not horrible.” Azure’s head fell to the side. “But it would be easier for you to accomplish your goals if you placed your points where you needed them. Have you been leveling up your skills equally, too?”

“No. But only because that’s a bit harder to do. My highest skill is One-Handed Weapons. As you might be able to guess, I’ve been putting all of my skill leveling abilities into that.”

At least that was a smart move. Janine did seem to be able to handle her ax well. Better than even Azure and Lonnell managed their own weapons, it seemed. Though she charged at her enemies like a maniac, there was no doubt that there was tons of power and skill behind her swings.

“Let’s just focus on assigning your points, then,” he offered. “You don’t need Mana if you’re never going to cast spells, so placing points into Intelligence is pointless.”

“It doesn’t make me smarter?”

“It’s not completely pointless,” Lonnell argued. “It does help you resist the effects of spells cast on you, but there’s no reason to spend a lot of points on it if you aren’t going to cast spells yourself.

“As a drawf, Agility is a good place to put points since you’re naturally slow.”

“I am not!” She furrowed her brow at him.

“Yes, you are,” he insisted. “If we had a footrace, Azure and I would leave you in the dust.”

Azure couldn’t help but smirk at the silly quarrel. It seemed that Janine forgot she was a dwarf from time to time. Which brought about the question of how she even ended up a dwarf in the first place. It seemed strange since there were no dwarves in their world. Not the fantasy variety, at least.

“Since you want to level as quickly as possible and you engage in lots of melees to do so, you should probably primarily be focusing your points on Strength, followed by Vitality, followed by Dexterity.”

“Why is that?” Janine stood to rejoin her comrades.

“Every time you swing your ax, it takes Stamina. If you run out of Stamina, you can’t fight anymore.”

“That’s why I always stock up on Stamina potions.”

“But they’re bloody expensive. How can you afford them?”

“That’s all I spend my money on. Stamina potions and healing potions.” She gestured with one hand, then the other.

Azure guessed that made sense. With no expensive aspirations, Janine didn’t have to save up like he and Lonnell did.

“Well, since I clearly don’t know what I’m doing, I’ll just follow your advice,” she said, though sarcasm had seeped into her voice.

“You can do whatever you want. Those are just my suggestions.” Azure pushed himself from the wall.

Janine held her hand up to him as if to shut him out. “Done. Let’s get going.” Then she walked through the door, leaving the men to follow behind.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE REALM – Day 74

Another chest awaited them in the fifth room. Their moods all brightened at the thought of the loot inside. But when they opened it, none of them could identify the fat round bronze plate-like object that lay at the bottom. Azure lifted it to get more information, feeling the weight of it in his hands.

You have received the following item:

Pendulum Bob

Uses: Quest Item.

"What in the hell is this?" He flipped the item over, trying to see if there was anything significant about its backside. It was identical to the front.

"It goes to the clock out in the hall," Lonnell told him, casting his glance in the direction of the clock though he couldn't see it through the wall. "I'm now assuming that it's broken and will need to be repaired before we can move on."

That sounded like a pretty safe assumption.

"I know nothing about clocks," Janine groaned.

"I don't either." Azure shook his head before taking a breath. "But, we'll figure it out. It can't be rocket science."

Lonnell gave him a queer look, and Janine smirked. It was nice to able to use terms from his own world and have someone understand them. It made him feel like less of an oddball.

They took the pendulum and watched the little girl run into the last of the rooms. Following her, they found yet another bedroom, though this one looked more like a jail cell. The two beds inside were made of wood and held to the wall with chains that fell diagonally as if the beds folded from the walls. Atop them laid a blanket and feather pillow, but there was no mattress. Something was off, though. Three of the chains were silver while one was bronze and looked different than the others.

"This may be a piece of the puzzle," Lonnell noted.

There was nothing else of interest in the room, so they turned to leave, wholly expecting the little girl to appear again, but she didn't. Proceeding out into the hallway, they stopped in front of the clock. Azure and Janine weren't sure what to look for, so they allowed Lonnell to examine it.

"Yes, it's definitely missing parts," he confirmed after scrutinizing over it for a good ten minutes.

"Well, we have the pendulum bob. What else do we need?" Azure asked.

"It looks like we'll need a cable or chain for the pendulum bob and a finial."

"What's a finial?" Azure raised an eyebrow and then shared a confused look with Janine.

Lonnell reached up to touch the top of the body of the clock. "Most grandfather clocks have a piece that goes here. It's not imperative to the function of the clock, but it's the only other thing I see that's missing."

"I hope you're right." Janine inhaled deeply. "What does it look like?"

"It should look like these side pieces." Lonnell moved his hand to the side and grasped a wooden piece in the shape of a lantern.

"Well, I'm pretty sure the chain is holding up the bed in that last room we were in," Azure said what they were all thinking.

"Probably." Lonnell scratched his chin. "And I bet the last piece is in the other bedroom."

Azure led the way back to the jail-like bedroom. After unclasping the bronze chain from the one bed, they discovered that it did match with the pendulum. With that done, they moved on to the other bedroom.

Looking under one of the beds, Janine found that the finial had been used for one of its legs. Azure and Lonnell lifted the bed while she pried it off. Then they returned to the clock with the pieces.

It took Lonnell about ten minutes to put it all together. As soon as he closed the door on the front of the clock, it began to chime. All three Adventurers went on alert, turning toward the hall and reaching for their weapons. There was no doubt in Azure's mind that the chime was meant to draw spirits to them for an ambush. But nothing happened. The clock chimed nine times before coming to a rest. When it did, there was the sound of something moving behind them. Putting their backs to the hall, they twisted to see the clock sliding to the side to reveal another door.

Janine lowered her ax and reached up to place a hand over her chest. "That about gave me a heart attack."

"Not what I was expecting at all," Azure admitted.

"Me neither. I was sure we were about to be swarmed." Lonnell kept a wary eye on the hallway.

"Maybe we just got lucky." Azure shrugged.

"Maybe we should go through the door before that has a chance to happen." Janine took a step closer to the door, bunching in with her two companions.

"Probably a good idea," Lonnell agreed, gripping the door handle and opening it.

Having not been attacked after the chiming in the hallway, Azure had half-expected a monster to be waiting for them on the other side of the door, but all that was there was another set of stairs. Reaching the bottom revealed a small library reminiscent of what Azure remembered from high school. Rows of tall bookshelves lined the walls, and the smells of paper and dust were strong.

At the back of the room, the ghost of a boy stood in front of a desk and a peculiar bookshelf that was completely solid except for one small square nook carved out in the center. The boy was the same from the portrait, dressed like a proper little gentleman in his Sunday's best with a bowtie around his neck. If his unsmiling visage wasn't so creepy, he might be an adorable child.

They tried talking to him to no avail. As with the little girl, using the amulet on him had no effect, and as soon as they began to approach, he took off to the left.

"This again?" Janine rolled her eyes.

"It appears so," Lonnell said with a sigh.

A pile of bones separated them from the desk at the back of the room. Azure eyed it warily. "Should we pass through or just go to the left?" There was enough space between them and the shelves to move comfortably without encountering the skeleton.

Janine frowned. "I can't Analyze it until to starts moving, but it looks similar to the ones on the other level."

If anything, the bones were just slightly thicker. A rusted battle ax lay in the middle of the pile which was a pretty good indication that the skeleton would eventually rise.

As if reading their thoughts and not wanting to give them a choice, it began to do just that. Azure quickly Analyzed it and was relieved to see it was no real threat.

Level 8 Dreaded Bones.

He glanced over at Janine. “Do you want it?” Now that she was level 9, it should Analyze as easy to her.

“Yeah. I’ll take it.” Janine readied her ax, jogging a few paces to reach the skeleton as it finished righting itself.

Metal clanged as the two matched weapons, this one giving her much more of a fight than the rickety skeletons on the previous floor.

“There will probably be another puzzle on this floor,” Lonnell mentioned as they watched Janine fight with the skeleton.

“That last one was blessedly easy.” Azure’s glance kept shifting to the side just in case more enemies might come streaming out from behind the other bookshelves.

A soft chuckle left Lonnell’s lips. “If I hadn’t been here, it would not have been easy for you.”

“True,” he admitted. Azure likely would have never been able to figure out how to piece the clock together on his own. “She’s doing pretty well.” He cast a nod in Janine’s direction.

Lonnell sucked in a breath. “She definitely has fighting skills.”

“I can hear you two bozos,” Janine shot back as she cleaved the skeleton’s skull off of its shoulders.

“What? We were just complimenting you.” Azure laughed.

They waited for her to finish looting the broken skeletal body. Then they regrouped.

“It might be best to see what awaits us in that main area.” Lonnell nodded toward the area with the desk.

“All right,” Azure agreed, and Janine made no argument, taking up the rear as Azure led the way.

Reaching the end of the bookshelf, he looked cautiously left and right before stepping out into the open. There were no piles of bones on the floor or signs of other threats. The little boy wasn’t waiting for them either.

“He must be between two of the bookshelves,” Lonnell surmised, his eyes floating in the direction that the boy had run. “But first maybe we should check out this one. It is strange.” He walked over to the solid bookshelf at the back of the room that only had one small space. “I think something goes here.”

“Well, this is lucky,” Janine said from the desk. Her head was quirked to the side as she read the open book laying atop it.

“What?” Lonnell turned to her.

Azure quickly walked over to see what she was talking about.

“This book tells us how to solve the puzzle.” She pointed to some of the wording, tracing it with a chubby fingertip. “It says that bookshelf is actually a door. To open it, we have to spell out the boy’s name with the titles of certain books found in this library.”

What’s the boy’s name?” Lonnell moved toward the desk but didn’t bother reading over Janine’s shoulder.

“Gay-lus?” Janine pronounced slowly. “Gal-us?”

“I think it’s Gal-us.” Azure turned the book toward Lonnell so he could see. The spelling of the name was Gallus.

“All right. But does it tell us what books we need?” he asked even as his eyes began scanning to read the instructions.

“Unfortunately not.” Janine’s gaze scoured over the library.

Lonnell flipped to the next page, but it appeared to be blanked. Picking up the book, he backtracked a few pages before the ones that told them how to solve the puzzle. Those were blank as well.

“Well, let’s just hope that there aren’t a lot of books with those letters.” Azure’s eyes flashed, knowing they wouldn’t be so lucky.

“Do you want to split up and look?” Janine glanced from Azure to Lonnell.

Azure quickly shook his head. “No. Never a good idea in a dungeon.”

“Azure is right.” Lonnell set the book down, leaving it open to the spot they had found it at. “We don’t know what we might encounter in here. For all of our safety, it’s best to stick together.”

“Okay. So how do you guys want to do this? We could go in alphabetical order or how the name is spelled or whatever letter is closest,” she threw out options.

“Let’s see where we started from first.” He backtracked to the shelves they had entered through, stopping at the edge to pull out a book. “It looks like this side is O,” Lonnell informed them before moving to the shelf on the opposite side. “And this shelf is Q.”

“So the next closest letter should be...” Azure hesitated while he thought.

“I’m going to take a guess that S is going to be the next shelf over on the left and L is going to be the next shelf over on the right,” Janine jumped in to help him out.

“Or vice versa, depending on which way you’re facing,” Lonnell corrected her since they were facing in opposite directions. Her brow dropped slightly in response, but she said nothing. “Whatever the case, you’re right. It probably doesn’t matter which way we start.”

“We should probably start in the direction that the ghost ran. I doubt he went to the left for no reason,” Azure pointed out.

“True.” He nodded.

“So...to the left it is, then. We’ll start with the L’s. There should be two books for that one.” Janine turned to lead the way this time.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” Azure sighed, following Janine around the corner.

Instead of a pile of bones between the two shelves, this time there was another chest on a pedestal. It seemed out of place. Like a trap.

“Maybe the book’s inside,” Janine suggested, pausing to scan the shelves on their right. “These are all K’s. I think the L’s are further down.”

“Or on the other side,” Lonnell mumbled.

“Which one of us is going to open the chest?” Greed was already getting the best of Azure. He hoped there wasn’t a book inside. Half of the excitement of being in a dungeon was collecting loot, and this particular dungeon had already proven that it had plenty of that.

“You seem pretty eager.” Expressionless, Lonnell stared at his friend.

Azure shrugged as he walked toward the chest. “What can I say? I love loot.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s yours,” Janine reminded him. “Depending on what’s inside, we should Rock, Paper, Scissors for it.”

He glanced back at her. “No, you and I should Rock, Paper, Scissors for it. We need to keep this shit equal.” He made a triangle gesture with his finger.

“True.” She looked at Lonnell to see if he’d be offended by being left out since he’d won their last bought and claimed the healing ring. He didn’t seem bothered in the least.

“All right. Let’s see what’s inside.” Azure flipped the lid on the chest, his adrenaline racing with anticipation.

Inside was a piece of rolled up parchment. Expecting it to be a part of the puzzle, a frown took over Azure’s face. When he picked it up and unrolled it, a notification popped up.

You have received the following item:

Weak Scroll of Pestilence

Mana Cost: 0

Range: 100 feet

Target: Single

Item Class: Uncommon

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Decreases victims Health points by 10 for 5 minutes. Crumple up and throw at target to activate.

At the top of the scroll was the image of a hand covered in boils.

This is more useful than I thought it would be. While Azure was far less disappointed than he had thought he would be upon seeing the item, he still wished it had been a piece of armor or a ring instead.

"What is it?" Janine looked over his shoulder to read the scroll.

"It's a spell scroll," Lonnell informed her. "They're only one-time use, but they're great if you don't want to or can't afford to learn magic. They're also worth a good amount."

Hearing this made Azure's greed swell again.

"Ready to Rock, Paper, Scissors for it?" He tossed the scroll back into the chest and readied his fist.

Janine nodded, staring at Azure's hand intently as they said the words to start the game.

"Goddamnit!" Azure jerked his head away as he lost yet again.

"Ha! Ha!" Janine mocked him, snatching the scroll from the chest and placing it in her bag. "Better luck next time."

"Well, whatever is in the next chest, I'm definitely getting." Azure crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

"If there is another chest," Lonnell mumbled under his breath. He had already walked away from them and begun scanning the shelves. When he got to the L's, he shook his head. "There has to be over a thousand books here that start with the letter L. I have no idea how we're supposed to find what we're looking for."

"Maybe the title will have his name in it." Shoving his disappointment aside, Azure turned his attention to the bookshelf.

Soon, they were all huddled together scanning over books on the varies levels of the shelf. After about five minutes, Lonnell started at the beginning, pulling the books out one at a time and looking inside of their covers.

"What are you looking for?" Azure asked him.

"Anything that might give us a clue as to which book is the right one."

He began doing the same, and Janine followed. About thirty minutes later and with no luck, she placed a book back onto the shelf with an exasperated sigh. "This is getting us nowhere."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Lonnell's voice came out in a rush.

"Let's explore the rest of the library. Maybe there are clues that we're missing."

"She's right." Azure slid the book he'd been skimming through back onto the shelf. "We're not making any progress like this. I refuse to believe that solving this puzzle is supposed to be this difficult."

Lonnell's shoulders slumped slightly, but they could tell that he felt the same way. "Yeah. All right. Let's look around some more."

They walked back to the end of the shelves then turned left to continue down. On the very next row over, the ghostly boy was waiting for them, the same deadpan look on his face. There were also several piles of bones with weapons. As soon as Azure stepped foot beyond the border of the shelves, the boy darted to the left, disappearing through the bookshelf. One of the books glowed where he had passed through, but they didn't have time to focus on that. The skeletons were beginning to rise.

All three Adventurers drew their weapons, knowing that it was too much for Janine to handle on her own. Five dreaded bones erected themselves from their rubble piles, their jawbones somehow able to contort into menacing grins.

The small space between shelves made it hard for them to fight efficiently. Every misplaced swing sent books showering down around them. Azure tripped on one and fell back. Thankfully, Lonnell was so close that he was able to catch him. The skeleton that Azure had been engaged in melee with took advantage of the situation, moving forward to swing his sword down, only to trip on another book and land on top of him.

"Son of a!" Azure smacked the skeleton in the back of the neck with the pommel of his sword, effectively cracking its spine. Another good hit sent its skull plummeting to the ground.

Defeated Level 8 Dreaded Bones. 56XP rewarded.

There wasn't much time to focus on the victory, though. Another skeleton came up right behind its comrade to fight him. A quick stab through its boney ribcage and an upward slash were enough to do it in.

Defeated Level 8 Dreaded Bones. 56XP rewarded.

The skeletons didn't cry out in pain when they died like most of the other monsters in The Realm. Instead, they just clattered to the ground, returning to how they were before. Azure was admittedly surprised that they didn't reassemble to attack again. It certainly seemed possible.

By the time the battle was over, Janine had slain two of the skeletons while Lonnell had defeated the fifth by knocking it in the head a few times with his staff over his comrade's shoulders. It had been an awkward fight, but they had gotten the job done with minimal injuries. Once the last of the skeletons fell, they all knelt to loot the bodies.

You have received the following items:

Dreaded Short Sword

Attack: +6-11

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 11/30

Item Class: Common

Quality: Poor

Weight: 7.5 kg

Dreaded Longsword

Attack: +2-7

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 27/28

Item Class: Common

Quality: Poor

Weight: 5.0 kg

It was nothing usable, but Azure hoped he'd get good coin for it at the market.

Lonnell finished looting his dreaded bones first and had moved over to pick up the glowing book. Azure stepped up beside him to look at the cover. It was a thin book bound in green leather, and the title read Ghouls of Patheana. He made grabby hands for Lonnell to pass it over.

You have received the following item:

Book: Ghouls of Patheana

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.0 kg

Uses: Quest Item

Flipping it open, Azure saw that the book was a type of mini-bestiary on ghosts, ghouls, and skeletons. It seemed pretty useful, and he hoped he’d get to keep it once they were done using it for the quest.

“I think we’re supposed to follow the kid,” Janine said as she rejoined the group.

“Judging from the direction he ran in, it appears he’s going in order of the spelling of his name,” Lonnell added.

Azure nodded, placing the book in his Bag of Holding. “Let’s go.”

The boy was not waiting for them in the next row over, but there was another chest. Feeling fairly confident that it wasn’t a trap, the group diverted to open it. Azure was on edge, knowing that whatever was inside was his. He desperately hoped that it wasn’t something that sucked.

Opening the chest revealed a gold chain with a small flat gold disc at the end. Again, Azure fretted that it might be a puzzle piece. There certainly wasn’t anything fancy-looking about it. As per usual, picking it up displayed the item’s information.

You have received the following item:

Loot Automizer Pendant

Type: Jewelry

Durability: 10/10

Item Class: Rare

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Traits: Point at a downed foe to automatically loot their body. Loot found on monsters will be randomized and does not have to be specific to that particular monster but will belong to that monster type. Each use costs 1 Durability.

“Oh, wow.” Azure jutted his head back for a second before quickly fastening the pendant around his neck. The item was every bit as good as the Burst of Health ring that Lonnell had gotten.

“It’s an amazing find.” Lonnell patted him on the back with a smile, making Azure feel guilty that he’d been such a bad sport about his friend having won the ring.

“Too bad it doesn’t have a higher durability. But beggars can’t be choosers.”

Azure got his first chance to use the pendant when they walked to the end of the line of bookshelves. There, the boy was waiting for them again, as were five more piles of bones. The boy touched a book on the far wall, causing it to glow, then he sprinted through the bookshelf to his right, probably running back to the L section.

All three Adventurers readied themselves as the dreaded bones began to rise. Another awkward match of close quarters hack and slash took place, and soon they were ready to loot the bodies again.

The number of kills was balanced the same as last time. Azure stood over the bodies of his fallen foes debating on using the pendant. Compared to crayfish and game animals, the skeletons were incredibly clean to loot. All he needed to do was pick up whatever weapons they had dropped. Seeing as how the pendant could only be used nine times before it would need to be repaired, Azure decided to wait until he came across a foe that would either be messy to loot or that he didn't know anything about.

Having made his decision, Azure knelt to loot his kills.

You have received the following items:

Bone Chips

Quantity: 1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting Component

Dreaded Short Sword

Attack: +6-11

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 11/30

Item Class: Common

Quality: Poor

Weight: 7.5 kg

Again, nothing impressive, but every little bit helped. Getting these crafting components did make Azure wonder what all he could make himself. Perhaps he'd have to ask Garion about it when they returned to Squall's End.

Upon collecting their items, Janine pulled the next book from the shelf, reading the title aloud. “This one is called Armando Shurman the Great.”

Azure turned to Lonnell. “Ever heard of him before?”

“I’m afraid not.” He shook his head.

“That’s surprising.”

“Just because I’m well read doesn’t mean I know everything about everyone who ever existed in The Realm,” Lonnell said a bit defensively.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it in that way, but I suppose that’s how it came out.” Azure shifted his weight.

“It’s fine.” Lonnell continued toward the L section, leaving Azure and Janine to catch up.

Gallus was waiting for them again. He reached out and touched two of the books on the bookshelf to his left, and they began to glow. Then he darted through the bookshelf to his right, presumably heading to the U section.

Considering that they'd already looted the chest in this area, all they needed to do was claim the two books, one of which was titled Little Nightingale and the other of which was called The Lights of Brinegrasp.

“What’s Brinegrasp?” Janine asked as she stared at the cover. It was blue with what appeared to be a lighthouse crudely drawn onto the front.

“Brinegrasp is a small coastal town on the very southeastern edge of Volflela. If you look out over the water at night near Wiljour Lighthouse, you can supposedly see lights of various colors dancing on the water. No one has ever been able to figure out what they are, but many believe that they’re the souls of the dead trying to escape The Deathlands.”

“That sounds spooky.” Janine placed the book in her bag and then hugged herself.

“You know we’re in a haunted mansion.” Azure smirked at her.

“Beneath it, technically,” Lonnell corrected him.

“It’s still haunted.” He strode up behind Janine and made ghostly noises.

She promptly reached around to smack him away. “Stop it! I was trying to forget.”

“Kinda hard to when we’re chasing a ghost.” Azure gave her a sarcastic side-eye.

Janine gestured in the direction that Gallus had gone. “He doesn’t seem too ghostly. Just a translucent kid roaming around.”

“Still a ghost.” He turned around, walking a few paces with his hands clasped behind his head until the sight of a chest down the next aisle made him stop. It was as if the ghostly boy’s presence hadn’t even registered to him. “Yay! More loot.”

Gallus touched the bookcase to his left to make one of the books glow, then jogged a few feet to his right and did the same before running straight toward Azure.

“Whoa, kid!” Azure held his hands out, his eyes widening in panic. He didn’t even have time to draw his sword before Gallus passed right through him.

Both Lonnell and Janine gave the ghost a wide berth as it made a beeline for the bookshelf door, running straight through it and disappearing out of sight.

“That was weird.” Azure blew out a breath he hadn’t even known he’d been holding as he patted himself down. It hadn’t felt strange when Gallus had entered his body and emerged from the other side. In fact, it felt like nothing at all.

“Are you okay?” Janine approached him with a look of concern.

“I think so. I mean, I don't feel any different.”

“That’s good.” Her features relaxed as she walked over to one of the bookshelves, seeming to be avoiding him, just in case.

Lonnell went to retrieve the last of the books while Azure headed for the chest, still feeling strange from having a ghost walk through him. Hopefully, it hadn’t done anything unforeseen to him, but he guessed he wouldn’t really know unless some sort of symptom manifested.

Not anywhere near as enthusiastic before—mainly because he was concerned with his health—Azure opened the lid of the chest to reveal what was inside. He knitted his brow, his focus diverted as he saw a long piece of leather with metal spikes attached to it curled up inside of the box.

You have received the following item:

Black Barbed Whip

Attack: +2-9

Strength: +1

Agility: +1

Intelligence: +3

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 16/28

Item Class: Extremely Rare

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Upon lifting the item, his mind immediately went to two very different places. The first was a BDSM sex video. The second was to an old movie called The Passion of the Christ. This thing looked like it was designed to inflict a crazy amount of pain on whoever or whatever was on the receiving end.

“Oh, good lord.” Janine pinched her eyes together as she looked at the whip.

“That is a whole lot of ouch, but the stats on this thing are insane.” Azure read them off as he let the whip out, listening to the leather thud against the floor and the clack of the metal spikes.

“You guys can Rock, Paper, Scissors for it. I don’t want it.” Janine made a swatting gesture at the whip and then walked away.

“Why not?” Azure smirked at her. “Too kinky for you?”

“Boy,” she threw over her shoulder, giving him a look that was pure dwarven seduction, “you don’t know what kinky is until I’ve shown it to you. That thing, though,” she turned her gaze to the whip, losing all sexiness, “that’s pure sadism.”

“It’s a good weapon,” Lonnell defended the weapon.

“Then feel free to fight over it. Like I said, I don’t want it.” Janine turned away from them and dropped her gaze to the book in her hand.

To be honest, Azure didn’t want it as a weapon either. The value in the item to him was in its stat boosts. Plus, with an item class of Extremely Rare, it had to be expensive.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors for it?” he asked Lonnell.

“Sure.” Lonnell tucked the book under his arm and readied his fist.

Azure won with rock, but he wasn’t exactly ecstatic over forfeiting his right to the next two chests they found. Everything in this dungeon so far had been pure gold, and he was worried he might lose out on something even better than the whip. Briefly, he thought about passing it off to Lonnell since he clearly wanted it, but thoughts of how much the whip was probably worth made him change his mind.

Curious about how the whip worked, Azure wrapped it around his belt, deciding he’d give it a try next time they encountered some skeletons. Not that it would ever be his main weapon.

“Well, it looks like we have all of them.” Janine fondled the book in her hand as if balancing the weight of it. “Should we go finish the puzzle?”

“I kind of want to see what’s down the next two rows,” Azure confessed.

“We should probably at least take a look,” Lonnell agreed. “No doubt, there will be more skeletons, but there might be another chest, too. At least, there will be if the pattern repeats itself.”

The pattern did repeat itself. The next row over had one pile of bones waiting for them. When Janine tried to rush forward to take care of it, Azure held her back. “Let me try out this whip.”

“But I need the experience.” She gave him a serious look.

“Come on.” He cocked his head to the side. “It’s just one, and we’ve let you solo more than your fair share of monsters up until now.”

“Fine,” the dwarven woman relented with a sigh, stepping back.

Azure pulled the whip from his belt, feeling a ball of nervousness form in the pit of his stomach. With no real idea how to use it, all he had to go off of was the BDSM porn and a few action movies he had seen in the past. He doubted any of them would make good tutorials.

This particular skeleton had a rusty spear in his hand, giving him good reach. Azure felt the weapons would be equally matched. He planned to wrap the whip around the spear and rend it free from the skeleton, but he jerked his arm back too quickly, the motion followed by a snap and cry of pain.

Azure glanced back to see Janine hunched over holding her face. Blood dripped through her fingers, making the ball of nervousness that had been in his stomach contort into guilt that gripped and squeezed his heart like a tightened vice. Lonnell was at her side in an instant.

The next cry of pain came from Azure as the skeleton took advantage of the distraction to thrust its spear into his chest.

Critical hit! Level 8 Dreaded Bones delivers 50 damage.

“Gah!” He returned his attention to the fight at hand, gripping the blade to pull it out of his armor. The rusty metal cut into his palm, delivering 10 more points of damage.

The skeleton jerked the spear back, then stabbed forward again. Azure moved to the side just quick enough to avoid another direct hit, though the blade still pierced the side of his chest.

Level 8 Dreaded Bones delivers 40 damage.

“Oh, fuck it!” He dropped the whip to draw his Bergen’s Glaive. At this point, the skeleton was making mincemeat out of him. A few more stabs and Azure would be dead if he wasn’t careful.

Pushing the spear aside and charging his enemy, one good swing of his sword cleaved the skeleton’s head clean off of its shoulders. Azure immediately lowered his weapon to clutch at his wounds, leaning the pommel of his blade against one of the bookcases to reach into his Bag of Holding for three Potions of Minor Healing.

When he was done drinking, he turned to Janine. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah. No thanks to you.” She glared at him.

Apparently, she’d been able to down a few healing potions as well, because now only a small cut remained on the right side of her bottom lip. It looked painful, shimmering red with fresh blood.

“You’re not allowed to use this again while I’m around.” Janine bent to pick the whip up by the handle, shoving it against his chest.

“That was a pretty impressive fail,” Lonnell added.

“I was not expecting to have to use a healing potion because of friendly fire.” She stomped away angrily toward the last row of bookshelves. “Just for that, I get whatever we find in the next chest.”

Neither of the men argued, not wanting to piss her off any more than she already was. Janine’s anger was valid, and Azure decided to honor her wishes, tucking the whip away into his bag. It was clearly better for him to practice wielding it when no one else was around.

“I’m so so sorry, Janine.” He followed her to the next row. “What can I do to make it up to you?”

“Just stay away from me for now.” She threw her hand back, indicating that he was already too close.

Lonnell clasped his shoulder. “Just give her some time. She’s still pretty upset.”

Yeah, I can see that. It was difficult not to want to fix things right away.

Both men stood back as Janine finished looting the last chest. They didn't even get to see what was inside. Her body blocked their view as she took the item and stuffed it in her bag. It didn't matter anyway. It's not like either of them had any claim to it.

Once she was done, they returned to the bookshelf with the nook and pulled all the books they'd collected from their bags. Lonnell quickly got to work arranging them, starting with the S book at the bottom. Nothing happened when he finished putting the books in order, which caused him to swap the places of Little Nightingale and The Lights of Brinegrasp. Thankfully, that was all that needed to be done before the bookshelf began to move, pushing itself aside to reveal the door to the next level.

CHAPTER NINE

THE REALM – Day 74

Taking Ghouls of Patheana was a no-go. As soon as the book was removed from the shelf, the door began to close. Azure was regrettably forced to leave it behind. Oh well. It wasn't as good as a full bestiary book anyway, but at least it would have been free.

“One more level, and then I think we should rest for the night,” Lonnell suggested before they proceeded down the next set of stairs.

With a nod of agreement, his comrades followed.

The stairwell opened up into another hall, this one much wider than the last. Five suits of armor stood against each wall with an eleventh at the back seeming to be guarding the door to the next level. There were two more doors, one on each wall, both blocked by a suit or armor. Other than that, there was nothing else in the hallway, but much like all the other floors in the basement, this one had a different feel to it. The walls were eggshell-colored, the floor made of gray tiles. Wooden columns supported the ceiling every five feet, matching the wooden baseboards and cornices.

“They look like they might come alive and attack,” Janine commented.

“Maybe they will.” Azure eyed each of the suits of armor. They didn’t Analyze as foes to him now, but that didn’t mean anything.

“I suppose we should start with the one at the end. If there’s a puzzle, we’ll find it there.” Lonnell bravely walked down the hall.

Azure and Janine lagged behind, waiting to see if the suits of armor would do anything. None of them moved.

When Lonnell reached the end of the hall, he stopped to examine the suit of armor blocking the door. It was reminiscent of the Knights of Gaia they had encountered in the last dungeon, except these were a bit smaller, and their armor appeared to be made of silver instead of black steel. Each suit of armor wielded a spear.

Cautiously, he stepped in to rap against the helmet of the armor. It rang hollow. Turning back to his party with a slight shrug, Lonnell said, “Azure, help me push it aside.”

The two men grunted as they put their weight into moving the suit of armor away from the door. It wasn’t that the armor was particularly heavy but that it was awkward to push where it rested atop a wooden pedestal.

Bent over pushing from the bottom, both Azure and Lonnell were eye level to see the suit of armor lift a foot.

“Guys!” Janine said in warning, pulling her ax from her belt.

Both men instinctively jumped back as the armor stepped down and turned toward them.

Shit, we're cornered, Azure realized, doing his best to give Lonnell some space. Before he had the chance, the armor swung at him with its spear. Weapon not drawn, all Azure could do was block with his vambraces, which proved to be pretty useless.

Level 10 Ghostly Armor delivers 50 damage.

The blow would have been enough to send Azure careening into Lonnell if he hadn't planted his feet in anticipation.

Janine brandished her ax over her head, hollering as she charged in. Being so close to the armor gave Azure a slight advantage. Grabbing the pole of the armor’s spear, he rendered it unable to draw back and strike again. Azure tried wrenching it from the armor’s hands, but it was too strong. The struggle bought enough time for Janine to cleave the armor’s arm off. A few more wild swings had the entire suit clanging to the floor.

“Nice work.” Lonnell nodded at her in admiration.

“Thank you.” She held her head up with pride.

“Well, now we know they’ll move if we touch them.” Azure handed the spear over to Janine. She’d earned the loot fair and square.

“Now we know.” Lonnell had already turned his attention to the door, his voice distant. “Something goes here.” He pointed at an octagonal-shaped indentation in the door. Pulling on the handle confirmed that the door would not budge until the missing piece was in place.

“Of course it does. Because this whole dungeon is a puzzle.” Azure threw his hands up at everything around them.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Janine chastised him. “It’s not like there are many places to explore.” Her eyes moved from one blocked door to the other.

“That means we’ve got to fight these guys.” Azure stepped up to the suit of armor blocking the door on the right. “I think the easiest way to go about it would be to take their spears first.” Thinking his brilliant idea would work, Azure tried prying the spear from the suit of armor’s hand, but it had an iron-clad grip on the weapon. After a moment, he gave up and drew his Bergen’s Glaive.

“What are you going to do?” Janine stepped back to give him more room.

“Well, at least now we know that they don't move when we touch them. Only when we move them,” Lonnell observed.

“True.” Janine cocked her head in his direction.

“Next best thing.” Azure swung his sword, trying to cut the spear right above the suit of armor’s grip. It was like his blade connected with stone. Instead of slicing through, it bounced off, vibrations rolling down the steel.

“Here. Let me try this.” Janine lifted the amulet from her chest and pointed it at the armor. Azure took a step back, fully expecting the armor to animate from the power of the amulet. But nothing happened.

“Looks like there’s no cheating this,” Lonnell said with a short sigh, “which makes sense.” This last part was mumbled.

“Yeah.” Azure returned to his comrades. “It looks like we’re going to have to move it.”

“Want to do the same thing as last time?” Janine looked from Azure to Lonnell.

“It didn’t work as well as it looked,” Azure informed her, feeling the bruising across his forearms. “I still got hit. And even when they’re animated, that armor has a white-knuckle grip on its spear. Maybe it would be better for us to move it from one side while you hack at the other side as soon as you see it animate. It’s going to have a difficult time attacking a foe that’s already at close-range.”

“That sounds good to me.”

They all took their positions, and the two men worked to push the suit of armor aside. The sound of Janine slamming her ax into the armor when it reanimated had both Azure and Lonnell taking several steps back. For a moment, the armor seemed confused about who it should attack, its visor moving in the direction of the men before turning to Janine. By the time it had made up its mind and began twisting toward her, she had her ax buried several inches into its chest. Its head jutted forward as if it were spitting up invisible blood, and then it collapsed to the ground.

“Piece of cake,” Janine panted as she leaned over to pick up the armor’s spear.

“It seems like such a waste that we can’t take the rest of it.” Azure shook his head at the mess of good pieces on the floor.

Janine pulled her bestiary from her bag and flipped through it, looking for the entry on ghostly armor. “Nope. According to this, the armor isn’t even real.”

“A damn shame,” he said again before turning his attention to the door.

“Yup. Now let’s see what’s behind door number one.” Janine gestured for Lonnell to take the lead.

Inside of the room was another chest, but this one was locked. Beating at it with their weapons seemed to have the same effect as striking the chest on the first level. The metal lock was impregnable.

“Well, looks like we have to find yet another key.” A long sigh escaped Azure’s throat, and they immediately moved on to the next door. “Same as last time?” He looked at Janine.

She nodded, taking her position on the opposite side of the statue.

This one was a bit more wily. As soon as it came to life, it swung its spear quickly to both sides like a sprinkler, bashing Janine in the shoulder before turning to hit Azure’s palms this time.

Level 10 Ghostly Armor delivers 50 damage.

He grabbed the spear, but the armor jerked it forward, pulling him with it. Not letting go, he stumbled a few paces, at which point, the armor did its best to shake him off to no avail.

Quickly recovering, Janine grabbed her ax and went to work hacking away at the armor until it was forced to surrender into a heap on the floor.

“Son of a bitch, that hurt!” She placed her ax back in her belt and rubbed her shoulder before digging in her bag. “Time to heal up.”

“Yeah.” Azure did the same, gulping down three Potions of Minor Healing.

“Door number two!” Janine held two fingers up dramatically before they proceeded.

What they saw when they opened the door was a grim sight. A skeleton lay atop a bed, its arm stretched over the side. Janine took a step back, though it wasn’t clear if it was because she thought the skeleton would attack or that she was disturbed by the scene.

“It’s holding something.” Lonnell approached the skeleton and bent slightly to take the key that had been clutched in its hand. “This must go to the chest in the other room.”

“It doesn’t look like it’s going to attack,” Azure noted.

“No. This one isn’t like the other ones.” Lonnell shook his head as he peered down at the skeleton. It was fully intact. Not the pile of bones they were used to seeing come to life. “Let’s not waste any more time.” He turned to leave the room.

To their disappointment, the key did not open the chest in the other room. Each of them tried it with no luck. Once the Adventurers had all submitted to the fact that it wasn’t going to work, they simply stood there staring at each other.

“So, what now?” Janine asked.

Lonnell blew a breath out through pressed lips as he stared down at the chest. “There must be some other way to open it. The piece that goes in the door has to be inside.”

“If there is some other way to open it, then what does this key go to?” Azure held up the key. Amusingly enough, it was a skeleton key. If he wasn’t upset that it hadn’t worked on the chest, he might have smirked at the irony. Weren’t skeleton keys supposed to be able to open everything?

“It could go to the chest on the first floor,” Janine suggested.

“Do we really want to backtrack to find out?” Azure raised an eyebrow.

“We might have to,” Lonnell said dryly.

“There has to be something we’re missing.” He walked around and began tapping on the floors and walls, looking for weaknesses. No one followed his lead.

“I’ll recheck the other room. Maybe this is a decoy.” Lonnell took long strides to go back to the room they’d found the key in.

“Maybe there’s something inside of the suits of armor,” Janine said before backstepping out of the room.

Fifteen minutes later, they all reconvened in the chest room no closer to accomplishing their goal.

“What are we missing?” Lonnell tore his hand through his hair.

“As I see it, we have to go back.” Janine’s expression was hard.

His shoulders slumped, Azure agreed. “There’s only one other chest in this dungeon we didn’t have a key for. Maybe the key to this chest,” he gestured down, “is in the other one.”

“All right,” Lonnell nodded, sounding exhausted. “So we’ll go back.”

None of them happy about it, they made their way back up the stairs. The pile of bones in the library blocking their path to the exit had respawned. Janine took point with her ax, making short work of it. It was clear that they all just wanted to get back to the first level as quickly as possible.

They reached the next set of stairs unmolested, but when they arrived at the first level, the rats were eager to come out of their hidey holes again. Seeming like almost an entirely different person, Janine fearlessly hacked away at them. They slew five total before the walls stopped their onslaught. Two kills went to Azure, two to Lonnell, and the last to Janine. Injuries were minimal with only Lonnell sustaining a bite to the top of his foot.

Once the slaughter was over, Azure debated using his new pendant, but cutting off rat tails wasn’t hard work, so he decided to wait.

The eerie blue light was streaming beneath the door spirit room once more, but they had no intentions of entering so paid no mind to it.

Key brandished in Azure’s hand, the Adventurers opened the door to the chest room and strode forward. One more rat assaulted them before they were able to reach the chest. Lonnell put an end to it with two stabs of his staff.

Shoving the key in the lock of the chest produced a satisfying click as it gave way.

“Thank the Gods,” Azure said, and a collective sigh of relief filled the room.

Flipping open the chest, Azure fully expected to see the piece that was needed to open the door on the fourth level or perhaps another key. What lay atop a bed of red velvet confused him though. Once the surprise wore off, he lifted the scroll and unrolled it.

You have received the following item:

Airian's Demise Scroll

Mana Cost: 50

Range: 100 feet

Target: Single

Item Class: Extremely Rare

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Quest Item. Materializes Airian for 5 minutes.

“I don’t get it.” Azure passed the scroll to Janine.

She scanned it over, then offered it to Lonnell. “I’m guessing that Airian is a ghost.”

“So it would seem,” Lonnell said slowly.

“If that’s the case, then why wouldn’t your amulet work on it?” Azure’s gaze fell to the amulet around Janine’s neck.

She shrugged. “You’ve got me.”

“Maybe that was the name of the door spirit,” Lonnell suggested. “Perhaps if we had skipped getting the amulet, this was another way to defeat it.” Lonnell rolled up the scroll and placed it in his Bag of Holding.

“Yeah, but it’s not a key or the piece for the door. Not what we need at the moment.” The thought that they’d traipsed all the way through the dungeon for an item that may or may not be important didn’t sit well with Azure. He hated backtracking.

“Maybe the answer is in the library,” Janine proposed, equally frustrating.

“I doubt it,” Lonnell said.

“Then what do you suggest?” she snapped at him.

“Calm down.” Azure pressed his palms to the air. “I think we should go back to the armor room and look for anything we might have missed.”

“We already tore that level apart.” Janine waved her hand.

Azure glanced up at the ceiling and thought. “I looked all around the chest room, but I didn’t actually look at the chest. Maybe the piece needed to open the door was on it, and I just didn’t see it. It would be a bit interesting if what we needed was on the chest, not inside of it.”

“Interesting but improbable.” Even as he said it, Lonnell had already moved to start thoroughly examining the chest in the room they were in.

“Or perhaps there’s a key beneath one of the pedestals that the suits of armor are standing on. Did you check beneath those?” Azure eyed Janine.

Her shoulder slumped, and she shook her head. “Inside and all around the armor but not under the pedestals.”

“There has to be another key on that floor,” determination showed through in Azure’s voice.

“Or it could be on another floor like the key to this chest was.” Lonnell quickly snatched his hope away.

“Well, it’s either that or we go through every book in the library.” He searched the faces of his comrades for their preference.

“Back downstairs it is then.” Janine sighed as she turned to exit the room and head toward the stairs.

Thankfully, they didn't have to solve the puzzles again as they descended into the depths of the dungeon.

Once more, the library skeleton respawned, and once more, Janine took it down. “This is getting tedious,” she grumbled as the bones fell in a heap at her feet.

Finally, they reached the floor with the suits of armor, which were now all erect and back in place. Collectively, the Adventurers groaned from having to go through the work of defeating their previous foes a second time.

“Tedious!” Janine's voice rose in frustration.

“Yes, indeed.” Lonnell nodded in agreement.

“Well, we best get to it. Daylight is burning.” Azure approached the armor blocking the door with the chest.

“Same as before?” Janine asked as she took her position on the statue's left side.

“We're going to burn through healing potions if we keep getting hit when they swing their spears,” Lonnell pointed out, not yet ready to enact their plan.

“What do you suggest?” Azure looked at him.

“Want to try shooting it in the head with one of your arrows from afar as soon as I try to move it?”

“I'm not sure that will work.” He shifted his weight.

“It's worth a shot. How many arrows do you have?”

“Enough.”

“Let's give it a go then.” Lonnell gestured for Janine to move back. “Unless you want to help me push. I would appreciate the help.”

“I can do that.” Janine stepped up beside him, and they bent over while Azure drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

Surprisingly, the plan went off without a hitch. As soon as Janine and Lonnell moved the suit of armor away from the door and the armor began to animate, Azure loosed a steel arrow at it, piercing straight through its helmet. The armor straightened for a moment and then crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Critical Hit! Defeated Level 10 Ghostly Armor. 70XP rewarded.

TRING!

Congratulations! You are now Level 11! Your base stats have been boosted. You have earned 3 points to assign to your characteristics. Please note that adding points to some characteristics(Vitality, Intelligence, and Strength) will further boost your base stats. You may also advance any 1 skill of your choosing by 1 level.

“Well, that was unexpectedly easy.” Azure rolled his shoulders, then walked over to loot his kill.

You have received the following items:

Crude Spear

Attack: +2-7

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 13/28

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 7.0 kg

The second suit of armor didn't go down so smoothly. Azure's first arrow ricocheted off the side of the armor's helmet, diverting to the right and nearly hitting Lonnell. That gave their enemy enough time to swing his spear to the side and smack Janine in the shoulder before Azure was able to loose a second arrow into its head.

Defeated Level 10 Ghostly Armor. 70XP rewarded.

“Maybe we should change tactics back to what they were.” Janine glared at him.

“No. This works better,” Lonnell insisted. “As long as he doesn’t miss and hit one of us.” He scowled at Azure.

“Geez! Sorry I can’t be perfect every time. If one of you would rather do this.” He held the bow out to them, but they both turned away, knowing they couldn’t do a better job. “Anyway, guys, I leveled up, so give me a minute to allocate my stuff, please.”

“Congratulations!” Janine’s face brightened. “Maybe I should be the one shooting the bow after all.”

“Have you ever shot a bow before?” Lonnell raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well, no...” her voice trailed off.

“I didn’t think so.”

“Hey! You don’t have to be such an asshole about it.”

“I’m not being an asshole. I’m just stating a fact. Dwarves don’t have the fingers for archery.” He walked a few feet away, putting his back to them.

“What?” Janine looked down at her fingers. “I doubt that’s true. I’ve just never tried before.”

Azure ignored their bickering to focus on his character sheet.

Name: Azure

Race: Human

Level: 11, 7% of the way to next level

Health: 230 / 280

Mana: 217 / 250 (270)

Stamina: 185 / 280 (300)

Vitality: 17

Intelligence: 14 (2)

Strength: 17 (2)

Agility: 14 (-1)

Dexterity: 12

Charisma: 11

Luck: 12

Skills: Archery Lvl 4; 53% of the way to next level

Stealth Lvl 3; 93% of the way to next level

Analyze Lvl 10; 41% of the way to next level

Cooking Lvl 5; 52% of the way to next level

Alchemy Lvl 4; 38% of the way to next level

Foraging Lvl 9; 53% of the way to next level

One-Handed Weapons Lvl 9; 8% of the way to next level

Tracking Lvl 2; 40% of the way to next level

Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 6; 25% of the way to next level

Fishing Lvl 3; 0% of the way to next level

Drinking Lvl 2; 5% of the way to next level

Land Magic Lvl 2; 45% of the way to next level

Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue, Elvish

Adventurer Rank: E

At first, he was confused about why he didn’t have the stat boosts from the whip, but then he remembered that he didn’t have it equipped.

Looking over his skills, Azure decided to wait to level any of them. While he was tempted to increase his One-Handed Weapons skill, now that he’d switched to mostly using his Bergen’s Glaive, it just made more sense for him to focus on his Two-Handed Weapons skill instead. Still, he wanted to wait until it had leveled one more time before immediately increasing it again.

Due to missing that last headshot on the first try, Azure placed a point into Dexterity. The other two points were a bit more difficult to allocate. Stamina was always needed, but with 300 points after his armor bonuses, it felt a bit overkill to throw another one there. Not wanting to waste too much time on it, Azure decided to place his last two points into Vitality and Intelligence. After this bounty quest, he planned to complete his magic school quest and earn his next spell, and it never hurt to raise his Health.

“Done.” He closed his character sheet and bent over to loot the downed suit of armor.

You have received the following items:

Crude Spear

Attack: +2-7

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 16/28

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 7.0 kg

“You guys ready to go again?” Azure turned his attention to the suit of armor blocking the last of the doors.

“Yeah, just don’t miss,” Janine reminded him with a frown even though she wasn’t the one he’d almost hit.

Azure didn’t miss, and the third suit of armor went down as smoothly as the first.

Defeated Level 10 Ghostly Armor. 70XP rewarded.

Knowing that the only loot the armor dropped was a crude spear tempted Azure to want to try his pendant. According to the description, he should be able to get a different item if it worked correctly. Then again, he wasn’t sure what other kinds of loot that type of monster was supposed to drop.

“Thinking about giving it a try?” Janine noticed him fingering the small gold disc.

He looked at her as if waking from a dream. “Yeah. I don’t really want to waste it on something easy to loot, though.”

“How many charges does it have?”

“Nine before I have to get it fixed.”

“I’d wait,” Lonnell suggested. “Spears are worth decent coin. You could end up getting something less valuable.”

“Yeah. I suppose you’re right.” Azure bent over to take the suit or armor’s weapon.

You have received the following items:

Crude Spear

Attack: +2-7

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 26/28

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 7.0 kg

“I would have used it on those rats.” Janine shivered, causing Azure to smirk. Again, she had left her kill intact. Azure had benefited, ending up with an extra rat tail.

They rechecked the rooms, but nothing had changed. The door to the next level wouldn’t open, the chest was still impregnable, and the skeleton’s hand was sans one key. After inspecting the rooms, they worked to turn over the pedestals that the suits of armor had been standing on, but they were nothing but solid wood.

“I don’t get it.” Lonnell shook his head. “I don’t get what we’re missing.”

“It’s got to be in here.” Azure threw his hands up at the room.

“Let’s check the rest of the armor. Maybe we’re supposed to fight it all,” Janine suggested, though she sounded no surer than the rest of them.

“I'm willing to try anything at this point.” Lonnell straightened himself and walked over to the first suit of armor on the right.

They took their positions and followed the same pattern of attack. Placing that characteristic point into Dexterity seemed to have paid off because Azure scored another direct hit.

Critical hit! Defeated Level 10 Ghostly Armor. 70XP rewarded.

At this rate, Azure would be halfway to level 12 by the time they were done. Part of him felt bad that Janine didn't have the skill with a bow to be taking all the experience.

You have received the following items:

Crude Spear

Attack: +2-7

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 13/28

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 7.0 kg

Examining the downed suit of armor produced no results. The body was empty, and there was nothing special about the pedestal it was on.

When they moved to the next suit of armor though, their attention was drawn to a nook in the wall that had been hidden behind it. The brief distraction and excitement from having actually found something was enough to make Azure miss his shot, the arrow ricocheting across the room. Thankfully, it went in the opposite direction of his party members.

Taking advantage of the opening, the armor predictably swung its spear to the side, catching Lonnell this time. The blow sent his body slamming against Janine, and they both fell into the wall.

Azure put an arrow through its helmet before it had the chance to attack again, but the damage was already done.

Critical hit! Defeated Level 10 Ghostly Armor. 70XP rewarded.

“Do you have no strength?” Janine glared at Lonnell as she pushed him off of her.

“Ow!” He rubbed his shoulder, ignoring the small woman chastising him.

“Both he and I were able to stand our ground when we got hit.” She gestured to Azure.

“You were only able to do it because you’re stocky.” Lonnell cast a glance down at her as he reached into his Bag of Holding for Potions of Minor Healing.

Janine’s mouth fell agape. “Are you calling me fat?!”

“Look, you guys, a key!” Azure jogged over to the notch in the wall and pulled out the small key that was glistening inside.

“William!” She turned her attention to Azure but pointed at Lonnell. “He just called me fat! Do I look fat to you?”

Oh God, that's a loaded question. All dwarves looked somewhat portly to Azure, even the leaner ones.

“No, you don’t look fat.” He quickly tried to curb her anger by placing the key in her hand. “Why don’t you open the chest. You’ve given up plenty of rat tails, and he took the last scroll, which I think counts as loot.” Azure cocked an eyebrow in thought.

“It’s a quest item. Not loot,” Lonnell was quick to correct him. “But she can have whatever is in the chest.” He waved his hand toward the door where the chest was, perhaps wanting to placate the dwarf.

With a huff, she sauntered away from them to go open the chest. “I just hope there’s something good in there.”

“I just hope the piece needed to open the door is in there,” Lonnell muttered under his breath. Azure gave him a warning look. “Hey, fair is fair.”

Not really caring what was inside of the chest since he had no claim to it, Azure bent to loot the ghostly armor.

You have received the following items:

Crude Spear

Attack: +2-7

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 3/28

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 7.0 kg

“I could build my own armory,” he joked dryly.

“Just think of the stack of coins you’ll get for all those,” Lonnell reminded him, waiting outside as well.

Janine returned shortly, a smile on her face.

“So, what did you get?” Lonnell rested his back against the wall for a second. Both he and Azure secretly hoped it was the piece needed to open the door.

“Well, it wasn’t the key piece for the door,” she confirmed, to their disappointment.

To Janine’s disappointment, neither of the men were in the mood to play the guessing game.

“If there was something behind that statue, then maybe the key piece is behind another,” Lonnell suggested.

“Possibly,” Azure agreed.

“Whenever you guys are ready.” He pushed himself away from the wall.

They made the rounds, working strategically to take down the suits of armor one at a time. It wasn’t until they defeated the second to last that they found another notch in the wall. Luckily, this one did contain the piece needed to open the door to the next level.

Janine marveled over it, her mouth set in an O. A hand-sized octagon of gold, there were eight different colored jewels set at each corner and a large cameo of a woman in the center. Janine gazed upon it with all the greed of a dwarf in a mine.

“Well, we got it finally.” Lonnell snatched the key piece from her. “Shall we move on?”

“Hey!” She said in objection, but she didn’t reach to take the key piece back.

“I think we should defeat the last of the suits of armor...just in case.” Azure didn’t want to miss anything else.

“Probably a good idea,” Lonnell concurred, shoving the key piece into his Bag of Holding.

“Can I kill the next one?” Janine asked, clearly tired of Azure getting all of the experience.

“No. Just let Azure handle it. I want to get this done and over with so that we can rest for the night.” He waved her request away.

“Who died and made you the boss?” She placed her hands on her hips, gazing up at him.

“If she wants to kill it, let her kill it.” Azure sided with Janine.

“None of us need to take any more damage,” Lonnell pointed out. “You’ll kill it quickly. It will likely strike one of us before she can finish it off.”

He couldn’t argue. A level lower than the suit or armor, defeating it in one hit was unlikely for the dwarf.

Azure gave Janine an apologetic look. “Let me take this one. You got all the experience early on,” he reminded her.

She blew out an exasperated breath. “This hardly seems fair.”

“I’m sure there will be plenty of other things for you to kill later.” Lonnell gestured aimlessly.

“Fine,” Janine huffed.

They made short work of the last of the suits of armor, Azure looted his kill, and they were all relieved to be done with the level.

“Let’s bed down for the night. It’s been a long day.” Lonnell began moving the scattered pieces of armor to the edges of the room.

“There’s a perfectly good bed in there.” Azure nodded in the direction of the room with the skeleton.

“But it has a dead body on it.” Janine wrinkled her nose.

“That body has been dead for a long time.” He thought of the practically bleached bones left behind.

“Hey, that just means more bed for us.” Lonnell teased.

“You two can go spoon each other.” She snorted.

“Spoon?” Lonnell’s eyebrows pinched together.

Azure couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m pretty sure you don’t want to spoon me, bro.”

“I don’t even know what that is.”

“So if not on the bed, then where will you sleep?” Azure asked Janine.

“I’d rather stay out here. It’s less creepy.” Her eyes swept over the pieces of armor scattered around the floor.

“Suit yourself.” Lonnell stretched and walked away from them into the skeleton room.

“These dungeons take a long time.” Janine caught Azure before he could disappear as well.

He turned back to her. “Yeah, but they’re worth it for the money.”

“I can see that. It’s just...getting a little claustrophobic. I can’t wait to be back outside,” she confessed.

Azure took a few steps toward her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I know it’s kind of disconcerting, and I wish I could say you’ll get used to it, but I’m honestly not sure a person ever can. This is my third dungeon, and I’m not used to it yet. But we’ll get through this, and then you’ll be one step closer to accomplishing your goal of being able to go on that quest you were talking about.”

Janine glanced at his hand, then followed it up to his face and smiled. “Thanks, William. I think I needed to hear that.”

“Get some sleep.” He patted her on the shoulder, then yawned and decided to follow Lonnell into the room.

“Hey, William,” she called back to him, making him pause again.

“Hm?” Azure looked at her over his shoulder.

“I’m glad I met you.”

His heart filled with warmth from her words. “I’m glad I met you, too.”

CHAPTER TEN

THE REALM – Day 75

“Oh yay, more doors,” Janine’s voice trailed off with sarcasm as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

There was another long hallway with three doors on each side. The walls matched the first floor minus the holes at the bottom for the rats. Two of the six doors had eerie purple fog streaming from beneath them, making it clear that something nefarious was inside. At the end of the hall, a statue blocked the seventh door likely leading to the next level.

“Well, if this dungeon has taught us anything, it’s that we should go to the end first.” Lonnell led the way to the statue.

Carved out of marble, a naked man stood on a short pedestal leaning against a tree trunk. A robe was draped over the arm nearest the tree trunk, and he held a sword behind his back with the other hand, the tip of the blade resting on the ground. Tight curls crowned his head. He was stocky but still clearly muscular.

“It must have been cold when they carved this.” Janine’s eyes were glued to the statue’s junk.

Lonnell rolled his eyes and then pressed his fingertips to his forehead as he shook his head.

Azure tried to suppress a chuckle, but it still came out, mainly from Lonnell’s reaction.

“Could you two please focus?” Lonnell growled at them. “I swear, dungeon crawling with you two is like being with children.”

“Oh, lighten up, buttercup. Don’t tell me you’re upset because he’s bigger than you.” Janine elbowed Lonnell in the side.

“Stop it!” he snapped at her, obviously not finding the jab funny.

“Okay. Okay.” Her eyes widened, the humor draining from her face as she took a step back.

“I think there’s something wrong with its eyes.” Lonnell leaned in to get a better look at the statue. “It looks like they’re missing.”

“It looks like its dick is missing,” Janine muttered under her breath, which made Azure give up on trying not to laugh because he knew the comment would only piss Lonnell off more.

“So which is it? Should we look for its eyes or its dick?” Azure smirked down at her.

“Maybe all three?” She shrugged with a smile.

“Good Gods, you two are going to drive me crazy. Let me know when you’re done.” Lonnell gestured for them to get over their giggling fit.

Azure coughed, trying to regain a serious composure. “So, I guess we should start searching the rooms for its eyes.”

“Sounds good to me,” Janine agreed as she finally tore her gaze away from the statue’s genitals.

“Since we’re already here, let’s work our way backward,” Lonnell suggested, walking over to the last door on the right.

“No arguments here,” Azure said.

Lonnell led the way, opening the door to reveal a chest on a pedestal.

“Ohh, loot. Despite all these damn puzzles, I think I like this dungeon.” Azure pushed his way to the front.

“We have found a lot of cool stuff.” Janine followed him in but stepped to the side so that one of the men could open the chest. “I never find stuff like this doing Monster quests.”

Lonnell approached the chest, practically forcing Azure out of the way with a sharp look. “This one is mine.”

“Fine. Fine!” Azure held up his hands in surrender as he backed away.

Lonnell flipped open the lid to the chest. Inside lay a small porcelain figurine on a hemp rope. It didn’t look like anything impressive, and for a moment Azure felt sorry for his friend for scoring so poorly in the loot department until Lonnell picked it up and his eyes widened. “Oh, wow!”

“What?” Both Janine and Azure edged closer.

“This thing has to be worth a fortune.” Lonnell turned to them, holding the necklace up.

“But it’s not made of anything valuable.” Janine raised an eyebrow at it.

He passed the necklace over to her, and her eyes turned into discs as well. “Oh, holy shit.”

“The suspense is killing me.” Azure made a grabby hand gesture toward the item.

He had no idea what to expect when Janine handed it off to him.

You have received the following item:

Pendant of the Adept

Vitality: +11

Intelligence: +10

Strength: +7

Agility: +11

Dexterity: +6

Charisma: +10

Luck: +9

Type: Jewelry

Durability: 7/7

Item Class: Rare

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Traits: +5% resistance to Fire Magic, +2% resistance to Water Magic, +2% resistance to Air Magic, +2% resistance to Disease, +4% resistance to Poison

“Oh my God.” Azure’s mouth dropped open for a second. “It’s like leveling up ten times.”

“More than that if you consider how many points bonuses it adds,” Janine said, still marveling over the item that now dangled from Azure’s hand.

He turned to Lonnell. “I’ll buy it from you.”

“I’ll offer you double what he offers you,” Janine quickly stepped in.

Lonnell shook his head, reaching forward to take the pendant back. “It’s not for sale.”

Azure’s whole being ached as he watched his friend place the pendant around his neck. A side glance showed that Janine was probably feeling the same. With the pendant, she wouldn’t need to wait to level up to 15 to go on her quest. It would have given her the same benefits plus more instantly.

“Well, you’re tanking from now on,” Azure said a bit grudgingly.

“Are you sure that doesn’t go to one of us?” Janine continued to argue. “I mean, you did get the Airian’s Demise Scroll.”

“It’s a quest item. It doesn’t count.” Lonnell kept his hand wrapped around the figurine as if he feared one of his party members might try to rip it from his neck.

“Well, you better be careful with it.” Azure tried to wave his own jealousy away. “With a Durability of only 7, it will probably need to be repaired fairly often.”

“Trust me, I’m going to be protecting it well,” Lonnell assured them.

“Good. Cause if you die, I call dibs,” Azure muttered under his breath, though not so low that Janine couldn’t hear him.

“Not if I get to it first,” she grumbled, and they both shared a look and chuckled.

“I’ve known him longer. Seems that gives me more claim.” He stepped up next to her to continue their banter.

“Oh my Gods, you two!” Lonnell sighed, pushing between them to leave the room.

“Glad you know you’re leading the way through the rest of the dungeon now.” Azure gestured before him.

Lonnell ignored him, stopping in front of the room across from them. The purple fog coming from beneath the door made him wait for the rest of his party to catch up.

“There be a ghost inside, I bet,” Azure surmised.

“Be ready with your amulet.” Lonnell stepped aside for Janine to take front and center when he opened the door.

The humor dropped from her expression as she prepared herself to face whatever was inside of the room.

Lonnell wrapped his hand around the door handle and looked back at Janine. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

She gave a nod, and he opened the door. Inside stood a menacing looking skeleton with a longsword clutched in its hands. Its eye sockets glowed a dark shade of red, its bones translucent with purple smoke coming from them. Floating a few inches above the floor, it seemed to be walking on air.

Azure quickly Analyzed the skeleton while Janine used the amulet on it.

Level 8 Ghostly Skeleton.

“I’ve got this,” Janine called back to them as soon as the amulet had done its work to give the skeleton a less ethereal form. Taking up her ax, she charged in to put an end to the threat. A few hacks of her weapon did the trick, and the skeleton crumpled to the floor like all the rest, leaving its sword behind to be claimed.

“Maybe I won’t be tanking after all.” Lonnell smirked at Azure as if he had just told some great joke.

There was nothing else of interest in the room, so as soon as Janine finished looting the skeleton, they moved on to the next.

In the third room they entered, there was another statue. This one appeared to be a younger version of the first. It had no arms, and its legs were cut off at the knees, making it quite a bit shorter, though it was mounted on a black marble pedestal to make up for the lack of height. A cape with animal teeth around the hood covered a mop of messy curls. The expression on the statue’s face was happy yet mischievous. One of its eyes was carved out of marble, while the other had a blue glimmering stone in its place.

“I guess we pluck out its eye,” Lonnell said, not sounding too sure.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Azure shrugged. “I mean, it would seem so. What else are we supposed to do.”

“We should definitely prepare for an attack or trap. I doubt it will be that easy.” He glanced around, clearly suspicious of the room.

Janine’s eyes were once more locked on the statue’s genitals. “He did not grow much. Poor kid.” She shook her head.

“Would you please!” Lonnell chastised her.

“What?” She gave him an innocent look.

Azure shook their argument away and drew his Bergen’s Glaive. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Be serious for once,” Lonnell barked at Janine a final time before stepping up to the statue.

“Fine. Jeez.” She sulked, pulling her ax from her belt and preparing for the statue to come to life.

They waited as Lonnell stuck his hand in the statue's eye socket. For a moment, the gem didn’t seem to want to give, but after a few grunts and tugs, he was finally able to pull it free with an odd popping sound.

“That took a bit more effort than I had imagined,” Lonnell confessed as he stared down at the eye.

When it was apparent that the statue wasn’t going to spring to life and attack them, Azure and Janine relaxed a bit.

“What does it say?” Azure inquired about the item description.

“Quest item.” Lonnell closed his hand around the gem. “Let's move on.” He led the way out of the room.

“I feel like that was way too easy,” Janine whispered to Azure as they left the room.

“Dungeons just be like that sometimes.” He shrugged. “Besides, we’ve already gone through a lot of shit. We deserve something to be easy.”

Speaking of easy, the next room had another chest in it. Azure and Janine shared a glance, greed in their eyes from thoughts of the epic item that Lonnell had looted from the last chest.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors for it? Or is this one yours since you’re technically next in line to loot a chest?” Janine said.

“Are we going in order now?” That was awfully nice of her to suggest, he thought.

“It’s up to you.” She glanced over at the chest, clearly hoping that he’d want to Rock, Paper, Scissors for it. He liked that she was fair. It made him glad they’d partied up.

“I think this one is mine,” he decided finally, letting greed get the best of him. It did make more sense for them to go in order from here on out.

Azure wiggled his fingers as he stepped up to the chest, more than a little excited about what he might find inside. Flipping open the lid revealed a mound of copper coins. Hundreds of them.

“Well, this is different.” He quirked his head back, not unhappy, but a little confused.

“That is some serious coin.” Janine peeked inside.

Azure sucked in a breath. “I wish it were a bit consolidated, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

He reached inside of the chest, ready to scoop up a handful of coins to place in his Bag of Holding. As soon as his hand was all the way inside, the chest slammed shut.

Citical hit! Level 13 Mimic delivers 75 damage. You are bleeding. You will lose 5 health every second for the next five seconds.

Blinding pain raced through Azure as his health instantly dropped by 30%. Shock began to set in from a mix of agony and disbelief. Jagged teeth grew from the lips of the chest, the opening turning into a sinister grin. Blood painted the pile of coins inside its gaping mouth, and on top sat Azure’s hand, detached from his body.

Scream after scream erupted from his throat as he looked at the bloody stump that was his arm. Jets of red sprayed out from the wound, covering the mimic. It seemed perfectly content bathing in the blood of its victim, its body bouncing around on the pedestal like a dog happy to see its owner.

Janine had taken several steps back, eyes wide as she screamed from the horrific sight. Lonnell was the only one keeping his composure.

The mimic leaped from its pedestal toward Azure, and Lonnell quickly placed himself between them, barely able to block the monster with his staff. It turned itself onto its side and snapped at him, large teeth wrapping around the staff. A few coins spilled from its maw and rolled onto the floor, stained crimson with Azure’s blood.

“Get yourself together!” Lonnell called to him.

“I’m missing a fucking hand!” Azure yelled back.

“I can’t hold this thing forever!”

Janine had somewhat recovered and was by Azure’s side, reaching into her bag with shaky hands for healing potions. She lifted one to Azure’s mouth. “Drink.”

Though he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the bloody nub at the end of his arm, Azure drank. Several drops of the potion spilled down his chin, wasted. Still, it began to work.

Through the pain, there was a tingling sensation. At the end of his arm, the blood began to crust, the bleeding slowly reducing from a torrent to a trickle. It was too late to stop the damage, though. He’d lost all 25 Health points from the status effect. It amazed Azure that he hadn’t lost more.

Janine dumped another Potion of Minor Healing into his mouth, making it feel like ants were crawling all over the wound. Azure clutched his arm to his body, gritting through the pain.

“You’re going to have to pay me back for these,” Janine told him as she fed him a third Potion of Minor Healing.

Thankfully, Lonnell had gotten that pendant when he did, because he was currently engaged in melee with a foe that was several levels higher than him. Without it, he wouldn’t have stood a chance. As it was, he was doing pretty well to hold the mimic off, though no leeway was being made in harming it. They were currently engaged in a battle of tug-o-war over his staff. The poor weapon was suffering all kinds of abuse, the wood deeply scored from the mimic’s sharp teeth. Lonnell would be lucky if it didn’t break.

Shakily, Azure tried to get a grip on himself. “I’ve got this. Go help him,” he told Janine, scooting back against the wall so that he wasn’t in their way.

She nodded, standing to pull her ax from her belt and join the battle. Seeing her approaching, the mimic let go of Lonnell’s staff and backed away, restrategizing to take on the two enemies at once.

Azure didn’t have time to pay attention. He was too busy focusing on digging into his Bag of Holding for more Potions of Minor Healing, which was incredibly difficult to do with only one hand. Silently, he chastised himself for being so dumb, even though deep down, he knew that the same thing could have happened to any of them. They hadn’t encountered any mimics up to this point. Only chests filled with wondrous treasures.

Fear of the future was his most prominent emotion. Blessedly, the mimic had gotten his left hand, but how was he supposed to go on one-handed? Wielding his Bergen’s Glaive was now entirely out of the question. And he doubted he’d adjust to being crippled anytime soon. Hell, even opening one of the healing potions was a pain in the ass. Azure had to use his mouth to pull the cork out.

Messily, he drank down potion after potion. The tingling sensation in his arm was akin to having a part of his body fall asleep. The extreme buzzing was almost maddening. While physical relief was nowhere in sight, psychological euphoria began to take over whenever Azure noticed that something was happening at the end of his arm. Like watching a 3D printer, layer after layer of bone and muscle and skin was slowly being restored.

“Oh, thank God,” he breathed.

A yelp of pain stole Azure’s attention away from his arm, and Janine’s Health bar was immediately chopped in half in his peripheral vision. Glancing in her direction showed the mimic clamped down on her left leg, its teeth sunk in deep as it pried flesh and muscle away from bone with a violent shaking motion. Lonnell was striking the mimic over and over again with his staff. Once it had rent a banana-sized piece out of Janine, it let her go, turning to bare its teeth at Lonnell. The sight of mixed body parts in its open mouth made Azure nauseous, but his concern for their new party member usurped his sickness. Janine had fallen back onto her ass, scooting away from the mimic as quickly as possible before it had a chance to attack again.

Azure watched from several yards away as she reached into her bag with unsteady hands. He tried to crawl over to her, forgetting his own injury, but as soon as he put pressure on his arm stump, pain shot through him so intensely that he blacked out.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE REALM – Day 75

Pain. Sharp pain. Not to be confused with the unbearable agony of his hand being bitten off or the irritating buzzing of the regeneration. No, this was different. Rhythmic. Stinging. And there was a chant that went along with it.

“Wake up.” Sting. “Wake up.” Sting. “Wake up.”

The voice was familiar. Masculine. Annoying.

Azure’s lips moved, his throat forcing out words before he was even fully conscious. “I’m awake.”

There was a brief pause, and then another sting. “Wake up.”

He opened one eye, feeling like he had a sunburn on his right cheek. Lonnell’s hand was poised to hit him again.

“Fuck’s sake, I said I’m awake!” Azure winced and leaned away before the palm had a chance to strike him.

Lonnell straightened and sighed. “Good. We don’t have time to dawdle around here.”

Azure’s eyes flew over to where he had last seen Janine. She was resting against the wall looking absolutely exhausted. Her pants were torn away where the mimic had bitten her. The chunk of skin it had taken had been restored, but a gnarly scar was now in its place.

Azure looked down to see that his left hand had suffered the same fate. While it had fully regrown, it wasn’t smooth like it had been before. Clenching his fist made his new skin pull tight. It was unpleasant, but at least his hand was functional.

Azure’s next concern was the mimic. Letting his gaze shift, it landed on the lifeless chest laying several yards away. Once again appearing completely innocuous, the mimic was on its side, mouth wide open, bloody coins and severed body parts spilling out. Azure cringed at the sight of his gnarled dead hand. The smell of copper filled the room, and it wasn’t from the coins. Blood splatters and puddles littered the floor every few feet where he and Janine had traveled. It was not a pretty sight.

“We survived,” he said, sounding surprised.

“Thanks to my pendant.” Lonnell’s fist clasped around the pendant.

Maybe it was fate that the Pendant of the Adept had ended up with Lonnell. If Azure had been wearing it, he still would have lost his hand, freaked out, and been useless. With Lonnell and Janine both being much weaker than him, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against the mimic.

Lonnell knelt, moving the chunk of severed flesh and Azure’s detached hand aside to start scooping up the coins. “You get half,” he told Janine with barely a glance.

She nodded, clearly still shaken. “Push my coin out onto the floor. I know it’s dead, but I don’t want to get anywhere near that thing.”

Lonnell dumped the chest over. Hundreds of coppers fell to the floor, most piling, some rolling in different directions. Janine looked all the part of the greedy dwarf as she crawled over to collect them, ever keeping a wary eye on the mimic.

“Well, I’ll definitely be much more cautious next time we encounter a chest,” Azure commented as he pulled himself from the floor. “Sorry that I passed out, by the way.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand. “I was trying to get to Janine to help her.”

“It’s fine.” She shook her head. “We all made mistakes.”

“Again, thank the Gods for that pendant,” Lonnell reiterated.

“You do owe me some healing potions though.” Janine eyed Azure seriously once she’d finished collecting her coins and joined the rest of the party near the door.

“Eh, yeah.” His supply was quickly dwindling, and there was no sign of them being anywhere near the end of the dungeon. They were currently on level five. There could be five more floors to go. “Might I interest you in monetary compensation? I’m running a bit low on potions right now.” He gave her a pleading look.

“I just collected over four gold from that chest.” Janine thumbed back at the mimic.

That was her answer. She didn’t need the money, but she did need the potions.

With a sigh, Azure reached into his Bag of Holding and pulled out three Potions of Minor Healing. Before handing them over, he informed her, “This only leaves me with five, just so you know.”

“Then we best all try not to get injured again.” She placed the potions into her bag, her eyes never meeting his.

“We only have two more doors to go,” Lonnell told them as he peered out into the hallway.

“Let’s try the one that doesn’t have the fog streaming beneath it,” Janine suggested. “This was too close of a call. Hopefully, there will be nothing inside.”

None of them argued, diverting to the less nefarious door. Lonnell took point, opening it to reveal another statue. This one seemed to match more closely to the statue blocking the door at the end of the hall. Instead of a sword in its right hand, it held a wooden club covered in nubs. Its left hand was raised with an apple resting atop its palm. As with the previous statue, one of the eyes was carved of marble while the other was a gemstone—this one red instead of blue.

“I think the child version was bigger.” Janine snorted as she stared at the statue’s exposed genitals.

“Don’t you start.” Lonnell gave her a warning look.

“I hope the fact that they don’t match doesn’t matter.” Azure gazed up into the statue’s eyes.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Lonnell closed the distance to pry the statue’s eye out. It gave him about as much grief as the first, but eventually it surrendered, popping out with an audible click this time.

For a few moments, they kept vigilant of their surroundings in case there was some kind of trap, but once again, nothing happened.

“Do we even want to bother going into the other room?” Janine asked. “We got what we need to open the door.”

“It depends. Do you want the experience from whatever is in the other room? It’s probably going to be another ghostly skeleton.” Azure could feel apprehension radiating from her. The encounter with mimic had been traumatic for both of them. But being afraid of everything wouldn’t get them through the rest of the dungeon. Stronger enemies definitely lie ahead.

Janine shifted her weight. “I suppose we could open the door, and if it’s something we can’t handle, we could just close it again.”

“Yes.” Lonnell nodded. “From what we’ve experienced thus far, I’ve gathered that most of the monsters in this dungeon are confined to their own rooms and floors.”

“Let’s do it, then.” Azure clapped his hands together. The skin of his regenerated hand felt strange and smooth against his normal one. Briefly, he wondered if it would ever heal completely.

They used the same formation as last time. Lonnell counted to three and flung open the door, at which point Janine instinctively used the amulet on what was inside, wincing back as she did while Azure Analyzed the threat.

Level 9 Ghostly Skeleton.

“I might need an assist,” Janine called back to them as she rushed in with her ax.

This particular skeleton was wielding a morning star. It was clear that the dwarf didn’t really know how to approach the weapon when she took a hit to the shoulder as she was coming in to slice at the skeleton from the side. Both opponents stumbled back to clutch at their injuries, though the skeleton recovered much faster, moving in to attack again only seconds later.

Azure debated on giving aid, but Lonnell took the decision from him by pushing through the door, brandishing his staff and delivering a quick jab to the head of the skeleton. The butt of his weapon caught in the skeleton’s empty eye socket. Janine took advantage of the monster’s blindness to cleave it in half at the stomach, being careful not to overswing and hit Lonnell. Bones piled at their feet, topped by the morning star.

“Son of a bitch,” she cursed as she reached into her bag for a Potion of Minor Healing. “That was a bad idea.”

“You killed it, didn’t you,” Lonnell said.

“Yeah, but I got hit again.” Janine sounded more annoyed than hurt.

The blood pouring from the torn flesh of her shoulder quickly coagulated from the effects of the healing potion. If Azure was being honest, she looked beaten the fuck up. Neither of them had fared very well on this level.

“Let’s descend. For not seeming particularly difficult, this level has been hell.” Azure glanced around the hallway as if they might have missed something.

“I second that.” Janine pushed past him, grumbling under her breath.

“Give me a second, guys. I leveled up.” Lonnell was standing staring off into space, clearly analyzing his stats.

“Congrats!” Azure told him with a smile. The second the words left his mouth, Lonnell was done and ready to move on. “Damn, you’re fast.”

“It’s an easy decision since this pendant has me so buffed up.” Lonnell wrapped his hand around the figurine hanging from his neck.

They walked together down the hall to the statue. Azure had his reservations, but as soon as Lonnell had forced the gems into the statue’s eye sockets, it began to move aside.

“Oh, thank God.” Janine breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Yeah.” Azure mirrored her sentiment. “That was almost too easy for comfort.”

“Don’t question it. Let’s just go.” She motioned for them to follow her down the new set of stairs.

When they reached the bottom, there was yet another hallway with more doors. Instead of being in pairs, there were two doors on one side of the hall, one door on the other, and a final door at the end. Each door lining the hallway had a small silver emblem affixed to it. The door at the end was much wider than the rest, with large indentations of weapons carved into the wood.

“Another puzzle,” Janine said what they were all thinking.

“To the end first.” Lonnell led the way.

Azure’s gaze flitted from door to door as they passed by them. On the first was a symbol of a tiny metal sword. The second door had a staff. And the emblem on the third was of an ax. When they reached the door at the end of the hall, they found that the indentations matched up with life-size versions of the same weapons. There was no door handle.

“How do we solve this one?” Janine looked to Lonnell.

“I don’t know.” He shook his head before pushing on the door to see if it would open. Of course, it didn’t. Then he tried reaching into the indentations and sliding the door aside as if it might move that way. Still nothing.

“The doors with the symbols clearly have something to do with it.” Azure turned to look back down the hall.

“Clearly,” Lonnell agreed.

“So I guess we should start with the first one.”

“Sounds good to me.” Janine nodded.

As soon as they began walking back, the little girl and boy who had haunted the second and third levels suddenly appeared in the middle of the hall. Their forms materialized within a fraction of a second, their faces expressionless as they stood side by side holding hands.

Janine gasped, griping at her chest. Turning, she clutched onto Azure’s arm for support and hid her face for a moment. “That about scared me to death!” she seethed at the two ghosts.

“Calm down. It’s okay. I don’t think they mean us any harm.” Azure grinned at Janine, patting her hand until she released him.

“Your mortal weapons will not work on what lurks below,” the little girl spoke, her voice wavering like her form.

“What do you mean?” Lonnell asked.

“Airian the Undead.” It was the boy who addressed them this time. “He is the protector of the graveyard. The protector of the items within.”

That tells us nothing, Azure thought but didn't bother saying it.

“If you pass without the right weapons, you will join us,” the girl told them.

“You will join us,” Gallus parroted.

Janine shivered, drawing closer to Azure. “I don’t like this.”

“First you must possess the scroll,” the girl said.

“Airian’s Demise Scroll,” the boy clarified.

“The one before you went without and perished. He will be one of us soon.” The girl didn’t seem displeased or excited about the news she delivered.

“The one who went before us?” Lonnell cast a quick glance in Azure’s direction before returning his attention to the ghosts. “Do you mean Radclyffe Smithe?”

“That one did not have the scroll,” the girl said.

“Or the weapon.” Gallus shook his head.

“Well, we have the scroll,” Azure told them. “So what you’re saying is that we need to go into these rooms and retrieve the weapons?”

It seemed simple enough.

“One weapon for each.” The girl held up a finger. “One you must retrieve on your own.”

“Should you perish, all of your belongings will be claimed by the dungeon,” the boy told them.

“And you will join us,” the girl added.

“Yes. You will join us,” Gallus parroted almost as if the thought excited him.

Lonnell raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying that we each have to enter the room marked with our weapon symbol alone?”

“Yes.” The girl gave a quick nod.

“Good luck,” the boy said, and then both ghosts began to fade away.

“Wait!” Lonnell reached out to them, but they were gone almost before he was even able to finish the word.

Janine shivered again, still clinging to Azure’s side even though the ghosts were gone. “Good riddance,” she mumbled.

Azure sighed, looking to the door with the sword symbol. “Well, I suppose there’s no mystery as to which door we’re each supposed to enter.”

“No, there is not.” Lonnell blew out a slow breath. “But I don’t like this. It reminds me of the lesser demon dungeon.”

“Lesser demon dungeon?” Janine looked up at him.

“Yeah. It was the first dungeon I’d ever been in,” Azure said, drawing Janine’s attention back to him. “There was a part where we had to face our own demons. This is a bit different, though.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Lonnell assured her, realizing that he was only making the situation worse by being apprehensive.

“It has to be. That’s the only way we’re completing this dungeon.”

“So should we each go in one at a time and wait for the others outside just in case they need aid?” Janine glanced from Azure to Lonnell.

“We couldn’t offer aid if we wanted to. I think the ghost was pretty specific in that we each have to face our room alone,” Lonnell said.

“I mean in case we need extra healing potions or something afterward.” Janine pinched her eyes shut.

“No. I think it’s best if we all go in at the same time. We’ve made good time today. From what the ghosts said, the boss is on the next level. We might be able to finish this dungeon today if we’re quick enough. Then we can have a much-needed rest in the mansion and return to Squall’s End tomorrow.”

“Ohhh, a bed.” Janine’s focus was instantly redirected. “That means we’d all get to sleep in beds.”

That prospect excited Azure, too. The mansion was super cushy. It would be nice to sleep in the lap of luxury for once. “I am totally on board with this idea.”

“Yeah. Let’s finish this today if we can,” Janine agreed.

“Whatever is in these rooms will probably not be easy to defeat. We should all heal up before we go in.” Lonnell was already reaching into his bag for potions.

Janine nodded and began to do the same, but Azure simply stood there thinking about his nearly depleted supply. It may be a dumb move, but he’d rather consume his potions as needed. There was no telling how many would be required for the boss fight. Running out prematurely would put him at a disadvantage moving forward.

“You’re not going to heal up?” Janine gave him a queer look.

“Nope. I’m good,” he insisted. “I’m stronger than both of you. Well, was stronger than both of you.” Azure’s gaze shifted to Lonnell’s pendant. “I’ll be fine.”

Lonnell didn’t seem so sure. “You might want to at least top off your Health. You know that whatever is in that room will probably be a higher level than you.”

“I’ve got this.” He pressed his lips into a line.

Once the rest of the party had finished healing up, they all stood there staring at each other for a moment.

“Well, I guess we’re ready,” Lonnell said, his arms swinging slightly back and forth with nervousness.

“Yeah. Let’s do our best.” Janine shifted her weight.

“Good luck to all of us.” Azure sucked in a breath before turning to face his door. “I guess I’ll see you guys on the other side.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Janine chastised him.

“You know what I mean.” He cast a smile over his shoulder before opening the door and stepping inside.

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE REALM – Day 75

Azure wasn't sure what he had expected to find, but it definitely wasn't the ghostly visage of a man standing in an otherwise empty room. He looked tired and sunken in, his body twisted inward where he leaned on a magnificent sword. Long dark hair fell onto his shoulders, but he was balding on top. Narrow features accentuated a strangely angular scowl. The finery he wore suggested that the man must have been wealthy in his previous life. A leather vest with vibrant green stitching closed over his chest with a red silk shirt beneath that matched the crimson slacks he donned. Azure Analyzed him from the doorway.

Level 13 Digby's Distorted Soul.

Digby. The guy who built this mansion. It clicked into place.

“Hello,” Azure said apprehensively, sticking close to the door. The sound of it shutting behind him made Azure glance back for a second.

When his eyes returned forward, the ghost was right in front of him, the sword swinging down to cleave his head in half. Azure ducked and rolled to the side, barely avoiding the attack. His hand instinctively reached for his Bergen’s Glaive, drawing it just in time to block the next incoming swing. The lifeless body had taken in breath with all the vigor of a swordsman in his prime. Steel clashed against steel in a flurry of advancements so swift that all Azure could do was dodge and block.

“Digby,” Azure tried to get the ghost’s attention. No matter how many times he said its name though, it didn’t seem to be listening. Malice showed behind narrow brown slits of eyes, the type that would suggest Azure was its worst enemy.

Finally, after what seemed like a good five minutes of defending, Azure saw an opening to attack. His Bergen’s Glaive sliced through the apparition as if it was nothing but air. That’s when Azure realized he was in trouble. He didn’t have the amulet to materialize the ghost, and thus would not be able to harm it.

“Fuck!” he breathed as he blocked another downward swing from Digby, the blade coming dangerously close to his forehead.

Already, Azure’s arms were beginning to tremble, his muscles atrophying from repeatedly defending against a foe several levels higher. Not good. He needed to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

Edging toward the door, Azure couldn’t even reach back for the handle, he was so busy avoiding being sliced in two. The ghost seemed to have boundless energy and unwavering aggression. After a few seconds of defending with his back pressed against the door, Azure realize with much dismay that there would likely be no way to slip out without taking damage.

Realizing that swinging to the side wasn't going to work against Azure, Digby made an attempt to stab forward and run him through. Taking advantage of the attack, Azure rolled to his right, his hand desperately reaching out for the door handle as soon as his back was against the wall again. He pulled the door open as the ghost drew his sword back, trying to squeeze his body through the opening, but Digby wasn't having it. His foot kicked forward, slamming into the door and smashing Azure's body between it. Then he went for another forward stab, piecing Azure's side. A blood-curdling scream erupted from his lips as the ghostly blade easily sliced through flesh, muscle, and intestines.

Citical hit! Level 13 Digby's Distorted Soul delivers 75 damage.

Son of a bitch! Gritting through the pain, Azure took the only opportunity he had to force his way through the door when Digby let up to stab him again, though the sword managed to come down and slice his side one more time, catching the tiniest bit of flesh on his way out.

Level 13 Digby's Distorted Soul delivers 65 damage.

As if aiding him in keeping the ghost out of the hallway, the door slammed behind Azure as soon as he was through it. Panting and groping at his side, he fell to the floor. Lonnell’s feet were in his peripheral vision, as was his similarly depleted Health and Stamina bars. It appeared that the staff-wielder hadn’t fared much better.

“We need the Amulet of the Underdead,” Lonnell said, his stat bars already beginning to recover.

Azure reached into his Bag of Holding and pulled out two Potions of Minor Healing and one Potion of Minor Stamina, drinking down the contents as quickly as possible. The healing potions only brought him up to 135 points. Three hits of Digby’s sword would be enough to kill him. Two if there was a Critical hit. Briefly, Azure thought about drinking another Potion of Minor Healing, but what would it really matter if the potion only healed him for 30 points but Digby dealt 65 points of damage per swing. As it was, Azure only had three Potions of Minor Healing left.

“You’re not looking very good,” Lonnell noted.

Somehow, he and Janine seemed to have an endless supply of potions. Azure envied them for not having to suffer his pain. The stab wound he’d endured was still bleeding, though it didn’t feel like it had punctured anything vital anymore. Existence was definitely pain.

“You weren’t looking so great yourself.” Azure stared at him from the floor.

They wouldn’t be able to do anything until Janine finished her room, and Azure wasn’t worried about getting attacked in the hallway, so there was no point in standing up. Besides, it hurt much less when he didn’t move.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think that we’d need the amulet.” Lonnell’s brow furrowed as he gazed off into nothingness.

“Probably because we’ve faced more skeletons in this dungeon than ghosts. To be honest, none of us knew what to expect. I was just as on board with finishing these rooms off quickly as everyone else.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Lonnell raked his fingers through his hair, then took a few steps over to lean against the wall next to where Azure was laying and slide down it. “I just hope she’s all right. If she dies in there...” his voice trailed off.

“If she dies in there, we’re fucked,” Azure finished his thought.

Lonnell nodded.

“I wonder how long it will take her.” His head fell to the side facing the door with the ax emblem.

“I suppose it depends on if she can even get a hit in. I don’t know what you were fighting, but I had Digby in my room, and he wouldn’t let up, even for a second.”

“Same. Maybe his soul is distorted because it’s divided between the rooms.” Azure looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

Five minutes of silence passed, and with each one, his worry for Janine increased. He wanted to peek inside of the room to make sure that she was all right, but he didn’t know what kind of consequences that would carry, so it was better not to.

“How long should we wait for her?” Azure turned to Lonnell.

“How long does it take to defeat a monster like that?”

He had no answer. It felt like it had taken forever just for him to get that one hit in.

They continued to wait. After what seemed like an eternity but was probably a little over ten minutes, the door finally opened. Janine came stumbling out, looking like something from a horror movie. Blood splattered her face from what had been a large wound in her left shoulder. Her armor was torn away from that spot, and there was a gnarly looking scab that went almost all the way down to where her arm met her armpit. While she had been in the room, they couldn’t see her status bars. Despite Janine's panting and evident exhaustion, they were mostly topped off.

“Oh my God, that sucked so badly.” She fell to the floor next to Azure. In her hand, Janine clasped an ornate ax. Intricate Celtic-looking carvings decorated the silver-white blade, and there was a large round red jewel at the end of the handle. Janine gazed down at the ax that lie limply in her hand for a moment before looking from Lonnell to Azure. “How did you guys do?”

“We just got beaten the fuck up.” The slightest bit of agitation showed through in Azure’s voice.

“We need the Amulet of the Underdead to fight Digby,” Lonnell informed her, pushing away from the wall.

“Oh.” She shot another glance between her two comrades. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Janine quickly removed the amulet from around her neck and offered it to Lonnell.

He turned his attention to the door with the staff emblem. “I’ll try to get this done as quickly as possible.”

“Please, take your time. I still want to rest a bit,” Azure told him.

“You really should heal up more.” Lonnell scowled. “Remember that if you die, we can’t make it to the end either. There are three indentations in that door.” He pointed to the door at the end of the hall before placing the amulet around his neck.

“Your concern for me is overwhelming.” Azure chuckled but quickly stopped when he felt pain bloom from his injury.

Lonnell mustered up his courage and strode forward. Knowing how aggressive the ghost was had him feeling apprehensive. It was apparent in the tension in his face and the stiffness in his gait. But they had to do this. Procrastinating wouldn’t prevent the inevitable.

“How bad was it?” Azure asked Janine once Lonnell had disappeared into the room.

“Pretty bad. I couldn’t seem to get a hit in edgewise. If I had known how difficult this dungeon would be...” Janine's voice trailed off, her hand moving to rest on her injured shoulder.

“I'm sorry if it seems like I lied to you.” Azure's chin dipped to his chest.

“Did you lie to me?” Janine raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“Dungeons are never easy,” he confessed finally.

Azure expected her to be angry, but she simply sighed, her body slumping slightly. “Well, I suppose it’s too late now. We’ve already come this far.” She averted her gaze, locking it on the door that Lonnell had entered. “I just hope he does better than I did.” Janine rubbed her shoulder.

“It was a bad injury?” His hand went to the wound at his side. Red warmth coated his fingers, and he had to draw back to keep the salt of his skin from causing more pain.

“I’ve yet to experience anything worse. I don’t think I’ll be doing another dungeon after this one. Yeah, I’m leveling up quickly, but it’s just not worth it.” She shook her head.

“That’s fine. I get it. But for what it’s worth, you make a great party member.” Azure smiled at her.

“Thanks.” Janine smiled back, but it didn’t make it to her eyes.

Lonnell finished his room much faster than Janine had. He came out panting, using his new staff for support. While he wasn’t bloodied up, it was clear by the bruises on his face that he’d been knocked around a bit. His Health and Stamina were cut down by over half. Before even taking the time to speak to them, he dug into his Bag of Holding for potions to heal up.

“I guess I’m up next.” Azure sat up finally, sending pain racing through his body. Next time he entered a dungeon, he’d make damn sure he had about a hundred healing potions on him. This was bullshit.

“You’re not really going in like that, are you?” Janine’s face filled with concern as she watched Lonnell hand the amulet over to Azure.

You have received the following item:

Amulet of the Underdead

Type: Jewelry

Durability: 5/10

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Traits: Quest Item. Point at a ghost to make it materialize.

He paused for a moment, staring at his staff-wielding friend. Lonnell had lost a lot of Health in the room, even with the amulet. Janine had clearly suffered worse. Azure would be dumb to think he could take on Digby without enduring a few more injuries.

“You’re right,” he submitted finally, digging into his Bag of Holding for one more Potion of Minor Healing. It pained him to need it, but the odds of surviving the room weren’t in his favor without it. “I doubt this will help much.” Azure frowned once he was done drinking.

“You seriously don’t have anything more you can use?” Janine eyed him in disbelief.

“I have two Potions of Minor Healing left, two Potions of Minor Stamina, and one Minor Potion of Life,” he rattled off his remaining inventory to her. “And I’m probably going to need all of that for the boss fight. I will sacrifice the Minor Potion of Life for this battle if need be,” Azure tried to reassure her.

Janine shook her head at him, digging into her bag again. Producing a red vial, she handed it over. “Here. This is all I can spare.”

He nodded in thanks, quickly drinking the contents. Azure was still at under 200 Health points. It was a bit scary, but he’d have to make it work. At least, the pain in his side had died down dramatically.

He stood before the door and took a deep breath. “All right. I’m going in.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE REALM – Day 75

This time, Azure had a plan. He wrapped the Black Barbed Whip around his belt to equip it for its stat boosts. As soon as he was through the door, he pointed the amulet at Digby. The ghost was standing in the middle of the room again looking tired and stoic. Its faded body seemed to solidify after a moment, telling Azure that the amulet had worked. He wouldn't make the same mistake of taking his eyes off of Digby. Before the ghost even had time to move, Azure was drawing his Bergen's Glaive.

Digby lifted his head, then gripped the sword he had been leaning on and charged. This was what Azure had missed last time. The ghost rushed him like a madman, his blade held above his head. With a guttural roar, Azure stormed forward as well. He kept his Bergen's Glaive at chest level, pure adrenaline infusing each step.

It was over almost before it had begun. Digby swung down while Azure ducked and plunged his blade up through the spirit's ribcage. This time, resistance was felt as Azure put his weight into skewering the materialized body. Layer after layer of ghostly flesh gave way, and soon the Bergen's Glaive was buried hilt deep.

Digby's sword-hand went limp before his blade clattered to the floor. A strange pink liquid began pouring out from the sides of his mouth. Not blood but plasma. He stared at Azure with dead eyes, the fight quickly leaving him. Then he disappeared, fading away like a cloud of smoke.

Critical hit! Defeated Level 13 Digby's Distorted Soul. 117XP rewarded.

Well, that was a bit anticlimactic, Azure thought, though he certainly wasn't complaining. After the shock of having won so quickly passed, it was replaced by pride that he was able to best an enemy several levels higher in a single blow. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like just deserts after failing so miserably the first time around.

He bent to pick up the sword, feeling all sorts of relief that he could enter the next battle without needing to completely deplete his stock of healing items.

You have received the following items:

Digby Mansion Sword Key

Attack: +5-10

Vitality: +5

Strength: +5

Agility: +5

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 29/29

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Uses: Quest Item

Oh wow. Nice stats.

Azure took a moment to admire the sword. It matched Janine’s ax, with intricate carvings down the blade and a large round red jewel set in the pommel. The only disconcerting thing was the lightness of it. For the materials it appeared to be made from, it weighed almost nothing. Hopefully, he’d be able to carry it out of the dungeon once they were done. The sword looked like it would be worth a small fortune, despite its Common class and Average quality. Then again, the stat boosts might make it worth keeping, even though its attack power was far inferior to his Bergen’s Glaive.

Azure took the sword and headed for the door. Both of his comrades seemed surprised to see him come out so soon. It had only been a few minutes.

“Wow. That was quick.” Janine’s eyes set on the sword in Azure’s hand.

He shrugged. “I knew what it was going to do this time.” Azure thought of how Digby had raised his sword overhead to attack. While there was no way he could have predicted the ghost would assault him in the same manner as the first time, as soon as he saw the repetition, his body had moved automatically to counter in the best way he knew how—a move he’d seen in movies and anime more times than he could count. If Azure had been even a hair slower, he’d probably be dead right now, the key-blade buried deep in his skull. His quick win had been a mixture of skill and luck.

“And not even a scratch on you.” Lonnell looked him up and down. “I seriously don't know how you managed that.”

“Mad skills.” Azure blew on his knuckles and rubbed them against his chest.

“Must be.” Janine smirked at him.

“Well, we got the keys. Are we ready for the boss fight?” He glanced from Janine to Lonnell.

“I’m kind of tired.” She shifted her weight. “That fight took a lot out of me, maybe more mentally than physically.” Her hand went back to the gash on her shoulder.

“Remember, if we finish this tonight, you get to sleep in a bed. If we finish this in the morning, it’s back to Squall’s End afterward.” It was clear which one Lonnell preferred.

“I say we finish this today.” Azure sided with him. “I kind of hope we don’t have to fight with these dinky weapons.” His gaze fell to the sword-key.

“I think they’re great.” Janine cut through the air with her ax. The way she moved with it showed no resistance from the heaviness of metal.

“I’m assuming there’s a reason why they have stat boosts. We will probably need them.” Lonnell’s eyes raked over his staff. Much like his comrades’ weapons, there were intricate carvings down the white-silver pole, with the red jewel set near the bottom. It certainly looked like a far superior weapon to the gnarled wooden staff he had been using.

“You’re boosted enough, I think.” Azure’s gaze locked on the pendant around Lonnell’s neck.

“Whatever the case, they are keys first. We should go open the door and see if we even get them back.” His attention shifted to the door at the end of the hall.

“Agreed.” Azure nodded, and they all walked toward the door.

Once they arrived, Lonnell placed his staff in the indentation for it. The door seemed to vacuum seal it in place, causing the weapon’s outline to glow a soft shade of red that matched the color of the jewels.

“Aw.” Janine frowned. “I don’t think we’re going to get them back.” Still she stepped forward to place her ax in its respective spot, achieving the same result.

Last was Azure. He felt less bad about losing the sword.

When all weapons were in place, there was an audible click, and the door slid to the side. As soon as it was open, the glow around the weapons faded.

Lonnell reached out and tried to pry his staff from its groove. The weapon practically fell into his hand. “I think they’re no longer ghostly.” He stared at the staff in wonder.

And he was right. When Azure took the sword back, it now had weight to it. He brought up the item’s information to see the change.

Digby Mansion Sword Key

Attack: +5-10

Vitality: +5

Strength: +5

Agility: +5

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 29/29

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 13.0 kg

Uses: Quest Item

“Good Gods, it’s heavy as hell now.” Azure clasped the sword with both hands, barely able to wield it. Without the +5 Strength that the weapon offered, it might have been too cumbersome. As it was, this was going to take some getting used to, and they really didn’t have the time to practice.

He stepped away from his friends to take a few cursory swings, but his form was sloppy at best.

“Jesus Christ! What are these things made out of? Lead?” Janine was now struggling with her ax as well.

“Who is Jesus Christ?” Lonnell lifted an eyebrow.

She waved his question away. “Forget about it. It’s just a way to complain where we’re from.”

“You know, you’re going to hell for saying that.” Azure smirked at her.

Janine gasped, raising a hand to her mouth. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Christian?” He pressed his lips together and gave a slight nod. “Surprising.”

“What’s so surprising about that?” Janine glared at him.

“Nothing. Nothing.” Azure shook his head and turned away. “But you did say the Lord’s name in vain. Noob mistake.”

“Would you like me to try this ax out on you?” She raised her weapon threateningly, but the way she struggled to keep it balanced made Azure unable to take her seriously.

“I’m pretty sure you’d miss,” he teased.

“You’re probably right.” Janine frowned, lowering the ax again.

Following Azure’s lead, she walked further down the hall to practice swinging the weapon. On her second try, it flew out of her hands, the blade lodging into the wall before the weight of the weapon caused it to fall to the floor.

“Whoa there!” Azure took a step further away from her.

“Sorry.” She shrank slightly, her features compressing.

Lonnell was the only one who seemed to be able to wield his weapon normally. That Pendant of the Adept was really making a big difference for him.

“Are we about ready to go?” he asked.

“Did you not see her just fling her ax?” Azure gestured to Janine. His hand left holding the sword sagged from the weight of it, the blade pulling toward the ground.

“We don’t have time to practice.” Lonnell knit his brow together. “To get stronger, we’d actually have to wield these in battle. Unless we’re going to go through and clear out whatever respawned several times over, there’s no point.”

“It might be worth the time,” Azure told him, watching Janine continue to practice while they spoke. It was painful to watch, and he was barely better with the sword.

“We only have a five-minute window to kill Airian once we use the scroll. If the three of us can’t put an end to him in that time, then we don’t deserve to be Adventurers.”

“If we can’t put an end to him in that time, it’s because we can’t wield these fucking weapons properly.” He slapped the hilt of his sword with the back of his hand. “Remember, we only get one chance to do this. There aren’t two Airian’s Demise Scrolls. We can’t fuck this up by going in unprepared. You of all people should know that.”

Lonnell’s entire body sulked. He bobbed his head slightly for a few moments before speaking. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“This probably won’t take long. Let’s just go back to the library and clear out the skeletons in there. That should be enough,” Azure suggested.

“I think that’s a good idea.” Janine rejoined them, panting. “I’ll probably get a better feel for this thing once I kill some stuff with it. Besides, I can always use more experience.”

“Fine. Let’s get to it, then. I want to get this over as quickly as possible,” Lonnell grumbled, taking point to head to the stairs leading up.

They were only a yard away from the bottom when the little boy and girl materialized again to block their path.

“Where are you going?” the girl asked.

“These weapons are too heavy.” Lonnell lifted his staff. “We need to go practice with them on another level.”

“If you leave, they’ll disappear,” she informed them.

“You will have to face Airian without them,” Gallus clarified.

The Adventurers all shared mixed looks of confusion and concern.

Azure sighed. “Well, I guess that’s that. We go in unprepared.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE REALM – Day 75

“Is there any chance they might be lying?” Janine whispered as they reconvened by the door leading to the boss level. The ghosts had not disappeared when the Adventurers had walked away. It was as if they were guarding the stairs going back up.

“Who knows. But it’s not worth taking that chance.” Lonnell kept his voice low as well.

Azure looked at the sword in his hand, flipping it over. “I’m fine either way. My Bergen’s Glaive has better attack stats than this sword.”

“And I feel more confident with my old ax,” Janine agreed.

“You might not be able to use your old weapons inside,” Lonnell reminded them.

“That’s true.” Azure frowned. They’d been given these weapons for a reason. They were probably meant to use them.

“I don’t like this.” Janine shook her head.

“I don’t like it either, but what other choice do we have?” He gazed dryly at the two ghosts.

“Well, are we going to do this or not? I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to get out of this dungeon.” Lonnell looked to the stairs leading down to the next level.

“You should probably use one of your last Health potions before we go in.” Janine locked eyes with Azure. “There might not be a lot of time to down one while we’re fighting.”

He nodded, pulling a Potion of Minor Healing from his bag and gulping the contents. Both Lonnell and Janine were already healed up after their fight with Digby.

Once Azure was done, Lonnell looked at him. “Are you good?”

“As good as I’m going to be.”

“Shouldn’t we come up with a strategy before we go in?” Janine suggested.

“Give her the scroll.” He nodded toward Janine. “She’s the weakest. She should stay in the back and use it. As soon as she does, I’ll cast Grease to put some distance between the boss and us. It should also slow it down.”

“Once it steps inside the grease, I’ll use my Small Flame spell if the area is big enough and I’m not worried we’ll get smoked out. That should shave off some of Airian’s Health,” Lonnell added.

“If you can’t do that, I’ll use Dirty Move once it gets close. That should blind it for a while. I think with all of our spells combined, we should have a pretty good advantage.”

“And I feel like I’m not contributing at all.” There was a twinge of discontent in Janine’s voice.

“This is about getting it done quickly,” Lonnell told her. “We only have five minutes to kill it. We have to make the most of the resources we have. If you see an opening to attack once we’ve cast our spells, feel free, but try to keep yourself out of danger.”

“I'm not the weakest anymore, by the way,” she said. “He and I are both level 10 now.” Janine pointed to Lonnell.

“Yeah, but we have magic, and you don’t. That’s why I want you in the back,” Azure explained.

“Is that it then?” Lonnell looked at his comrades.

He glanced at Janine one more time for reassurance. “I think that’s it.”

“I can’t come up with anything better,” she confirmed.

“All right. Then let’s go. I’ll lead since I have the pendant.” Lonnell wrapped one hand around the figurine danging from his neck.

The stairs leading down to the boss level were different from the ones before. Made entirely of wood, each stair had a strip of red carpeting on top of it. Before they’d even reached the bottom, the body of a man curled into the fetal position came into view. Azure suspected that it was Radclyffe, but he activated his Analyze skill anyway, hoping that the man was still alive.

Corpse of Radclyffe Smithe

It was curious to Azure how he was offered no additional information. Or that the corpse Analyzed at all since it wasn’t an enemy or alive.

They all paused to stare at it for a few moments.

“He’s dead,” Azure commented, in case the others couldn’t tell.

Janine raised a hand to her mouth, covering the gasp threatening to escape.

He turned to her and let a small chuckle slip out. “Why do you look so surprised? The ghosts told us that he had perished.”

“I’ve just...never seen a dead body before. It’s horrible.” She stepped closer to Azure and hid her face against his arm.

He patted her on the back.

“Whatever killed him wasn’t a blade,” Lonnell noted. “Airian must have magic of his own.”

“Probably,” Azure agreed.

Boss monsters seemed to have some type of magical attack, more often than not.

“He looks like he died in pain.” Janine gazed down at the corpse.

She wasn’t wrong. Radclyffe's expression was twisted into a grimace, his eyes pinched closed. Narrow features were framed by shoulder-length curly brown hair. Rigor mortis had set in long ago. A red fedora lay a few feet away, matching the rest of his rich attire.

Azure wondered if it would be possible to loot his body, then cast a glance at Janine, hoping she wouldn’t be mad at him if he suggested it. There was a silver bracelet on Radclyffe’s wrist that might be to her liking.

“We should take his belongings back up from the dungeon as proof that we found him,” he said, staring forward. Hopefully, it would seem noble instead of greedy.

“We should take his entire body.” Lonnell eyed Azure as if his suggestion had been stupid. “If a portal to the basement stairs opens up, it would not be hard to carry it.”

“That works, too.” Azure nodded.

“Perhaps we can take the body without fighting the boss.” Janine sounded way too hopeful and naive.

“That’s not how this works.” Lonnell shot her down.

“I was afraid of that.” She sulked.

“Well, we better get to it. Give Janine the scroll.” Azure nodded from Lonnell to Janine.

They quickly made the exchange, Janine keeping the scroll out for future use.

“You guys ready? Once we hit the bottom of the stairs, I imagine the fight will start pretty quickly.” Azure looked at his companions.

“Yeah. Let’s do this.” Lonnell stared straight ahead with determination etched in his expression.

“I’m so nervous. This is my first boss fight,” Janine muttered as she followed the men down the stairs.

“It will be fine,” Azure assured her, though he felt bad for lying. No boss fight ever ended up being fine. Someone always died. Could he really let it be Janine if it came down to it? Would he even have time to choose? Or perhaps he was walking to his own demise. There was no way of knowing.

A sick feeling filled his stomach with each step they descended. Doubt crept in. Perhaps agreeing to do this quest with Lonnell had been a bad idea. Dragging Janine along had been even worse. He had expected to pick up someone expendable. Azure had never thought that he might actually grow to care for the person, especially in this short of time. Why couldn’t she have been insufferable like The Asshole Knight? He hadn’t mourned the loss of Sir Nash Thornton. The guy had been an asshole. But if Janine died in this dungeon...Azure would never be able to forgive himself.

“Stay in the back. I’ll protect you,” he threw back for his own peace of mind.

Azure would protect her. With his life, if need be. It was his fault that she was in this dungeon. He wasn’t about to let her die for his selfishness.

The bottom of the stairs gave way to a massive room. It looked to Azure to be a ballroom. Oversized suits of armor stood sentry on wooden platforms on each side of the stairs. There was an expansive open space with an intricately tiled floor. Stars and squares and rectangles were placed strategically to form a beautiful dancing and socializing space. To the sides, furniture was covered with sheets, but the tapestries and paintings hanging on the walls were all exposed.

The ghost of a man stood at the back of the room with his hands crossed behind him. Oddly, he looked like a much older version of Digby. His white hair touched his shoulders but was balding on top. It led into a manicured beard and mustache. Pale from death, his body had broad, boxy features. Looking wealthy and dignified, he was dressed in a shirt with puffed sleeves and matching breeches, though their color was indiscernible thanks to the translucency of his form. Azure imagined they were brown though, because they were darker than the rest of him.

He quickly activated Analyze.

Level 14 Airian the Undead.

He's Analyzing as hard, but he shouldn't be difficult to take down for the three of us combined. Coming off of having just slain a level 13 enemy with no assist, Azure was feeling pretty confident.

“Mortals are not allowed down here,” the ghost said in a deep bass as he rushed forward.

“Use the scroll!” Azure called to Janine.

She stepped forward, holding the scroll up to Airian and wincing away from it at the same time. Light shot forth from it, hitting the ghost square in the chest. He gasped, his body convulsing for a moment before the light died down. The scroll turned to dust in Janine’s hands, and she quickly stepped back.

“Stupid mortals. Do you think that’s enough to stop me?!” Airian sliced forward with his hand, and sludge flew from his fingertips, sailing across the room.

Both Azure and Janine moved to opposite sides to avoid it, but Lonnell wasn’t fast enough. The spell hit him for nearly a quarter of his Health, the sludge sliding down his body to pool at his feet, making it difficult for him to move.

“Cast!” he yelled to Azure.

Azure did his best to aim his grease spell where Airian was standing. As soon as the dark liquid began spraying out, the ghost jumped back, though not quickly enough to avoid it coating his feet. The problem was that Lonnell had to get closer to use his Small Flame spell, and he seemed to be practically glued to the ground, each step incredibly laborious and slow. By the time he was even able to take three steps forward, Airian had backed out of the grease.

“Your petty magic means nothing in here,” Airian said with a wicked grin.

Turning his attention to Azure this time, he held out his palm. A noxious-looking yellow cloud began to form, flowing in Azure’s direction. He ran toward the now materialized ghost, trying to dodge the cloud as he went, but it spread too far, catching him and causing his stomach to immediately cramp when he inhaled the acrid stench.

Level 14 Airian the Undead delivers 70 damage. You have been diseased. You will lose 1 Health per second for the next 3 minutes.

The cramping in Azure's stomach was so intense that he doubled over in pain. To signify that the status effect was in place, an icon of a hand covered in pustules appeared in his peripheral vision.

Well, that's enough to kill me. I'll be dead in three minutes. It looks like I drew the short straw this time.

There was nothing that could be done about it. Azure had to press forward, lest his friends faced the same fate. Pushing through the pain, he got in range to cast his Dirty Move spell. When he held up his hands, he saw that the same red pustules from the status effect icon were beginning to form all over his body. He was so distracted that he was barely able to register that his spell had hit its mark.

Janine hollered as she charged past him, her ax raised. Azure watched for a moment as she hacked at Airian with all the ferocity she had used on their enemies on the way to the mansion. He felt weaker as his Health ticked down, but he knew that he couldn't give up. Forcing each step, Azure drew his Digby Mansion Sword Key, which now felt even heavier thanks to having the pustules on his palms to contend with, and joined Janine in stabbing the ghost.

Energy sloughed off of his body with each Health point lost, and the burning in his palms from the feeling of blister after blister popping from the weight of the sword almost usurped his sickness. Something cool hit his back. A blue blast of energy that covered him and then quickly dissipated. This happened in repetition every five seconds, topping back off whatever Health he had lost.

Airian seemed to be weakening, though none of the stabs or slices they made appeared to be cutting deep. At close-range, he was powerless, unable to cast any spells with the onslaught of attacks and no weapon to defend with.

Finally, Airian's sight recovered. Janine stepped back, but Azure pressed in closer. If the ghost managed to put distance between them again, it would be a fatal mistake. A stab through the stomach, even cutting the ghost's throat, didn't appear to work. Had five minutes already passed? Azure wondered. No. If it had, Azure would surely be dead by now. As it was, his Health was getting dangerously low.

Knowing he would die if he continued on the offense, Azure stepped back to dig through his Bag of Holding. Not hesitating, he drank down both his last healing potion and the Minor Potion of Life.

Airian raised his hands to cast again, this time directing his attention at Janine. There was no guilt inside Azure for feeling relieved that he was being spared from another spell. If he got hit again, it would probably mean instant death for him. The ghost's battle strategy was clearly flawed.

A piece of crumbled up paper came sailing past Azure. It hit Airian's outstretched hand, snuffing out whatever spell he was in the midst of casting. Groaning loudly, he doubled over, clutching onto his stomach as if he had just received some fatal invisible injury. Then he poofed out of existence.

Defeated Level 14 Airian the Undead. 140XP rewarded.

Holy shit, I'm still alive, was the first thing Azure thought. Somehow, even though his Health had been draining like crazy and he didn't have enough Potions of Minor Healing to save himself, he hadn't died. Whatever those blue bursts of healing had been had kept him alive. What in the hell just happened, was his second thought. No one had attacked Airian, and yet he had suddenly died. It made no sense.

He voiced as much when he finally felt safe enough to turn away from the emptiness in front of him and address Janine. “What the fuck was that?”

She beamed at him proudly. “I used the Weak Scroll of Pestilence. I guess he only had 10 Health points left.”

“It looks like we all had to pull tricks out of our bags.” Lonnell walked up to them, the effects of whatever spell Airian had cast on him having finally worn off.

“What do you mean?” Azure glanced over at him.

Lonnell raised his hand.

“I don’t get it.”

He pointed to his finger.

“Nope. Still not getting it.” He shook his head.

“Notice something missing?” Lonnell gave him an incredulous look.

Janine gasped, clearly catching on before her comrade. “Oh no! You used up the Durability on your Burst of Health Ring!”

“Every single charge.” His features sulked a bit. “But it was all I could do when I really couldn’t move.”

Azure was overcome with emotions. It seemed like an almost priceless item, yet Lonnell had broken it without a second thought to save him. He began to tear up. “Wow, dude. Just wow.”

“Oh, stop it. You would have done the same for me.” Lonnell brushed his sentiment away.

Maybe not every charge, Azure thought, but he didn't dare say it. He was beyond grateful to still be alive.

“Hey!” He perked up. “We’re all alive. We all made it!”

“You sound surprised about that...” Janine raised an eyebrow at him.

“We haven’t had the best of luck in dungeons,” Lonnell admitted sheepishly.

“The best of luck with what?” Suspicion marred her features.

“Don’t worry about it.” Azure waved the awkward conversation away. “Let’s just grab Radclyffe’s body and get out of here. I’m sure there are some super cushy beds in this mansion, and one of them is calling my name.”

“I’m a little upset that there’s no loot,” Janine confessed, looking around for something to take.

“Yeah. We lost some of our best items to this fight.” Lonnell frowned.

“We could see what Radclyffe has on him,” Azure suggested, trying to appeal to his party’s greedy side. “I doubt anyone above will know what’s missing. And if they do, we could just say that we found him without it.”

“That’s assuming he’ll have a lot of good stuff.” Lonnell seemed doubtful.

He shrugged. “We never know until we search him.”

They all shared a look and then went to rummage through Radclyffe’s pockets. The only things they found were two coppers and a Rusty Dagger.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors for it?” Azure glanced at his friends.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors,” they both agreed with a smirk.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE REALM – Day 75

A doorway to the surface appeared, and Lonnell was tasked with carrying Radclyffe’s body since he currently had the most Strength. Also, Azure was still covered in blisters, so doing anything with his hands was going to be a chore until he had a chance to heal up a bit. As they had all feared, as soon as they reached the basement door and stepped through it, their magical weapons disappeared as did the Amulet of the Underdead.

It seemed that the mansion had filled with servants waiting for their master’s return. Five people stood at the entrance to the dungeon, with Janora at the forefront. Grief took over her delicate features when she saw her master’s lifeless body.

“I’m sorry, but he was already dead when we got to him,” Lonnell informed them, handing Radclyffe’s corpse over to one of the men.

After they had told the servants about what they had experienced in the basement, Janine asked if they might stay the night to recover before their long journey back to Squall’s End. Janora granted them permission before showing them each to their own room on the second floor.

Azure marveled in wonder at the finery surrounding him. With a thick feather mattress and drapery circling it, the large four poster bed looked fit for a king. Animal skins decorated the floor, providing him a soft place to step when he took off his shoes. There were two bedside tables, and a small table with two chairs next to a window meant for sitting and having meals. It felt almost like a high-class hotel from his own world. The servants even offered to draw him a bath, for which Azure was most appreciative.

The icing on the cake was a warm meal that he didn’t even have to pay for. Janora brought up an assortment of cheeses and fruits before the entrée. Azure snacked greedily, consuming the whole plate. The main course was roasted pheasant on a platter circled with potatoes, onions, and carrots. To wash it all down, she filled a silver goblet with dry red wine. A slice of lemon cake was delivered once he had picked the bird's bones clean. By the time Azure was finished eating, he felt like his stomach might burst.

After dinner, he took off all of his clothes and crawled onto the bed. Sinking into the mattress, it felt like Azure was laying on clouds. Briefly, he wondered who would inherit the mansion now that Radclyffe was dead, but it was none of his concern. The comfort embracing him quickly pulled him into a deep, dreamless sleep that wasn’t anywhere near long enough.

Of course, being the buzzkill that he was, Lonnell woke Azure the next morning insufferably early.

“Just five more minutes,” he groaned, rolling onto his stomach and pulling the pillow over his head to block out the annoyance.

“You know it’s going to take us all day to get back to Squall’s End, especially because Janine is going to want to kill everything in our path. If that weren’t the case, I would have let you sleep in,” Lonnell said with a long-suffering sigh.

“Tell her I said she can’t do that.” He flailed in Lonnell’s direction from beneath the pillow.

“You tell her.” Lonnell wrenched the pillow from Azure’s head. “I knocked on her door, but she didn’t respond. That’s a dwarf for you. They sleep like the dead.”

He rolled to face Lonnell finally, opening one eye. “If you can’t wake her up, then why did you wake me up?” Annoyance rang clear in his voice.

Lonnell shrugged, tossing the pillow back onto the bed next to Azure. “So you could wake her up.”

“You’re a horrible party member.” He narrowed his eyes at his friend.

“I just want to get this over with.”

Sitting up, Azure said, “We finished that dungeon with plenty of time to spare. There’s no reason to rush. Even if we make it to Squall’s End tonight, we won’t be able to turn the quest in until tomorrow when The Adventurers Guild opens. Relax for once.”

Lonnell’s shoulders slumped, and he blew out a breath. “Fine. Waste time if you guys want.” He threw his hands up at Azure before stomping out of the room.

Azure fell back onto the bed with a comfy oomph. This was definitely like laying on a cloud. He closed his eyes and snuggled back down, drifting off for a few more hours of well-deserved sleep.

When he awoke next, the sun was streaming in through the window. Janine and Lonnell were both downstairs supping on sandwiches in the dining room. Azure had his share, then they thanked the servants for their hospitality and took off toward Squall’s End.

There was a strange lack of monsters on their journey back, but what they did encounter, both men stood aside to let their newest party member cash in on the experience. There seemed to be much more balance to their group now that they’d faced a dungeon together and come out the other side as a full team. Lonnell no longer complained about Janine veering off course to slay enemies, and she patiently waited when he paused to forage.

Along the way, Azure leveled up his Foraging skill, which gave him the perk of Foraged items selling for 10% more. That was pretty exciting. Otherwise, it was an uneventful journey minus them having to travel through the dark for a few hours before reaching Squall’s End. Between Lonnell’s Small Flame spell and the torches that Azure was able to provide, the light kept most of the monsters away. Anything that did approach, Janine took it upon herself to protect the group from.

By the time they reached Squall’s End, it was late. Still, Janine seemed reluctant to part ways, asking if they wanted to have a few beers at the tavern. Though completely exhausted, Azure couldn’t help but indulge in the small celebration of having conquered their first dungeon together. It took a bit of convincing to get Lonnell to join in, but eventually, they found themselves walking through the door of the tavern.

An added surprise was finding Uden sitting at a table with a few other Adventurers. Lonnell’s energy seemed to renew the second he laid eyes on his brother.

“He’s all right,” he whispered under his breath with relief before walking over.

Janine held Azure back by putting her hand on his shoulder, her eyes glued to the half-imp. “Who is that?”

“That’s Uden. Lonnell’s brother and the other person I told you might have joined us on our quest.”

He couldn’t get a read on why she had stopped him, but he figured it might be because of suspicion of the otherworldly creature. Even though he looked healthier than when Lonnell had brought him to Squall’s End, Uden was still several shades paler than any of the humans in the place, his skin almost having a blueish tint. He was barely passable as human right now. Just barely.

They walked over, and Uden stood and turned to greet them.

“Glad to see you're still alive, man.” Azure clutched wrists with him, and Uden quickly pulled him into a bro hug.

“The sentiment is returned. I hope you’ve been taking care of my brother.” His eyes shifted to Lonnell.

“He’s here, isn’t he?” Azure smiled.

“Yes, he is. And who is this lovely creature?” The half-imp grasped Janine’s hand in his and bent to kiss the tops of her fingers.

“Lovely? Me?” A bright pink took over her cheeks, and she looked from side to side to see if he might be talking about someone else. “Oh my.”

“This is Janine, our newest party member.” Azure hoped it was okay to introduce her as such. Even though she had said she didn’t want to do any more dungeons, he hoped they would quest together again sometime. It was nice to have someone around from his world.

“My brother told me you’re a fierce warrior.” Uden kept his eyes locked with Janine’s. “I love a strong woman.”

“Okay. Okay. That’s enough.” Azure could clearly see what was going on. He wasn’t about to let the half-imp fuck this up by thinking with this dick. “What in the hell happened to you anyway? I thought you were supposed to be gone for two weeks. It’s only been a few days. Did you even go on your quest for The Adventurers Guild?”

“I did. But these conversations are no fun standing. Let’s get you guys drinks and find a place to sit.” He looked across the room for an empty table.

Feeling uncharacteristically generous, Lonnell bought them all a round.

You have received the following item:

Pint of Beer

Quantity: 1/1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Uses: Makes your worries feel less harrowing.

Effects: Increases strength by 3% for one hour

Decreases attack of all weapons and magic by 20% for one hour

Decreases Agility, Dexterity, Charisma, and Luck by 3 points for one hour

Azure noticed that Uden made it a point to sit next to Janine. She could barely look at him, clearly gripped by his charm. This was going to be bad.

Then Uden began his riveting story. “So they had planned to put me on the front lines, but you know I’m not one to follow orders.” He smirked. “To make a long story short, it was a pretty big risk, but I sneaked out of the castle and assassinated a few key people. You know how I do.” He blew on the back of his knuckles, unwaveringly cocky. “The siege was over almost before it began. I gained a level...and a reprimand,” He tilted his head to the side in thoughtful amusement, “but ultimately, I was the hero of the day.” Uden held out his arms.

“Oh, that sounds super exciting.” Janine stared at him in wonder.

“My brother is pure stealth.” Lonnell beamed proudly.

“With a whole lot of recklessness.” Azure was less impressed. It seemed like some things didn’t change, and he could count on Uden to continue to be a loose cannon. “You’re lucky you didn’t get killed,” he grumbled.

“If I had stuck to their plan, I probably would have. Whatever the case, I also didn’t have the time to waste. Two weeks with no pay is fucking ridiculous. I wanted to get back to you guys so we could start making some real coin. Speaking of which, what have you been up to?”

The three of them rehashed their dungeon adventure, with Lonnell being the most prominent voice. Azure was surprised that he hadn’t made Janine seem useless or like a nuisance, especially with their rocky beginning. Perhaps he had grown to appreciate her after all. She’d definitely pulled her weight in the boss fight.

“One thing I don’t get is that the dungeon didn’t disappear once we’d completed it,” Azure noted.

“Are they supposed to?” Janine gave him a queer look.

“All the ones we’ve completed before did.” His gaze volleyed from Uden to Lonnell.

“That one is a revolving dungeon,” Lonnell informed him. “It’s a part of Digby Mansion. It’s magical, but it probably always has been there since the mansion was built and probably always will be there. We may have defeated Airian, but there were a lot of other ghosts wandering about. I doubt defeating him put them at rest.”

Azure shrugged. It still didn’t make sense to him, but he wasn’t going to question it further.

Despite their low tolerances, beer flowed in rounds, each taking their turn to pay except for Uden. The more they drank, the more flirty Uden got with Janine. While Lonnell didn't seem phased by the strange attraction, it was quickly getting under Azure's skin. Normally, he wouldn't cockblock a friend, but he didn't want to see Janine get hurt. Uden would undoubtedly fuck and run. And he didn't want their sexual entanglement to ruin the chance for them to all party together again.

Azure waited until Uden had left to take a piss to bring up the uncomfortable subject, feeling like a protective brother. As the half-imp walked away, Janine’s eyes followed him with a dreaminess about them. It seemed to be an even mix of lust and alcohol, the alcohol probably spurring on the first of the two.

“Hey.” He tapped the table to get her attention.

“Hm?” she asked as if coming out of a dream.

“You don’t want him.” Azure thumbed toward Uden’s backside.

Janine quirked her head back. “How would you know what I want?”

“I’m telling you that you don’t want him. He’s not a good guy. Not in the sense of...well...relations.” Oh God, this was awkward.

She laughed suddenly, shaking her head. “We just survived a dungeon. Can’t I live a little?”

“Live with anyone else here.” He made a sweeping motion to encompass the whole room. “Just not him. He’s in our party. You have to think of what would happen after.”

Janine’s eyes drooped a bit. “Are you really giving me this lecture right now? I bet I’m older than you.”

That was a strange assumption, and something Azure had never considered before. “I don’t think that’s relevant. Besides, I’m just looking out for you.”

“I’m forty years old, William. I know I don’t look it in this body, but I’ve been around the block a time or two. Guys like him are a dime a dozen.” She waved her hand absently toward the door. “I know that charm. I know what he’s doing. And I’m not looking for romance here. I have my own world to get back to. There’s no point in trying to settle down with one of the locals.”

Wow. She had sure told him.

“Forty?” He was surprised. Then again, most dwarves looked the same age to him, stuck in their late twenties or early thirties. Except for the older ones with white or gray hair. Dwarves aged pretty well, he realized suddenly.

“You should try to get laid, too. I’m sure there’s some woman in here that would love to hook up with a handsome young buck like you.” Janine ignored the comment about her age and took a large swig of beer.

Getting laid did sound nice, but Azure had never been the love ’em and leave ’em type. Besides, wooing women took effort, and he was way too tired for it right now. Not to mention he didn’t feel particularly handsome covered in scabs thanks to the pustules having not fully healed yet. Right now, he was lady repellent.

“Miss me?” Uden asked when he returned. The look Janine gave him said it all. That and a whole lot more Azure hadn’t wanted to read into.

“Well, I’m going to bed,” he declared, not in the mood to watch this train wreck happen.

“I think I’ll join you,” Lonnell said, pushing his empty horn aside.

“And where shall I stay for the night?” There was way too much suggestion in Uden’s voice.

“On the floor.” Azure scowled at him.

Playing into his hands, Janine leaned in and whispered into Uden’s ear. A soft chuckle escaped his lips, and he glanced up at Azure as if to say he had won.

“Meet us at The Adventurers Guild first thing in the morning so that we can turn in the quest and divvy up the loot,” Azure told Janine, unsmiling.

“You got it.” She gave him a thumbs up.

He shook his head as he walked away, glancing over at Lonnell, who was stumbling by his side. “You don’t think that’s a bad idea at all?”

“That’s their thing. They’re both consenting adults. Let them do whatever.” He sloppily threw his hand back over his shoulder.

Azure grunted. Whatever happened between Uden and Janine was out of his control now—had been this entire time. He just hoped that their night of fun didn’t make her avoid all of them afterward. After all, Janine was the only real link Azure had to the life he’d known before.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE REALM – Day 77

A horrible hangover accompanied them to The Adventurers Guild the following morning. Janine was nearly thirty minutes late, and both Azure and Lonnell had begun to worry if she’d show up at all. Out of all three of them, she had the most pep in her step, seeming in a particularly good mood. Uden hadn’t returned to their room last night, which meant that he must have stayed in hers. Azure didn’t want the details.

“The line is already kind of long,” he complained. “Better file in.”

It took them half an hour of awkward silence to reach the front. Although the wait wasn’t very long, it seemed like an eternity.

“You guys finished this quickly,” Mel, the E line clerk, mentioned, though he didn’t seem particularly impressed. As soon as he stamped their paper, he went to get the box that held their rewards. “Do you plan to take another one?”

“Nope. I’m good for now,” Azure told him.

“Are you sure?” Lonnell quickly asked. “I think we can go again.”

He looked at his friend. “I have magic school to get back to, and Janine said she doesn’t want to do another dungeon.”

Janine said nothing to the contrary, seeming lost in her own world, only along to collect the reward.

“But what about Uden? We need to help him level up.” There was a strange sense of urgency to Lonnell’s demeanor.

“Not my brother; not my problem. You probably shouldn’t be dragging him into a dungeon right now anyway. He needs to level up a bit more.” Azure promptly thanked Mel and scooped their rewards from the box before walking toward the door, leaving Lonnell and Janine no choice but to follow.

Congratulations! Quest: The Heightened Haunted Mansion has been completed.

You braved the forbidden basement in Digby Mansion. Unfortunately, Radclyffe Smithe, the current owner, had already fallen victim to the ghosts within. At least his servants will now have closure. You have earned 3 gold, 4 silver, 1 Quest Point, and 330XP. You have also received the following items:

Small Skill Token

Item Class: Uncommon

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.0 kg

Uses: Spend a Small Skill Token to gain 100 points in any one skill.

Ring of Fortune

Type: Jewelry

Durability: 7/7

Item Class: Uncommon

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Traits: Doubles the amount of coin found on defeated enemies.

Strike Ring

Type: Jewelry

Mana Cost: 5

Range: 6 feet

Cooldown: One Minute

Durability: 7/7

Item Class: Uncommon

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Does 10% of your base Stamina in damage to a targeted enemy. Can only be used in hand-to-hand combat. Spends 1 Durability for each use.

Congratulations! You are now Level 12! Your base stats have been boosted. You have earned 3 points to assign to your characteristics. Please note that adding points to some characteristics(Vitality, Intelligence, and Strength) will further boost your base stats. You may also advance any 1 skill of your choosing by 1 level.

“Wow. That was a lot of experience.” Janine’s eyes widened.

“Bounty quests are usually pretty good for that,” Lonnell told her.

Azure was too busy assessing their new items to get in on the conversation. Honestly, none of it was as impressive as he had hoped. Monsters rarely dropped coins, and none of them used hand-to-hand combat. Oh well. At least he could sell whichever item he received.

“I know we were originally going to halve everything, but I think Janine earned her fair share,” Azure said to Lonnell.

He nodded in response, giving no argument.

Promptly, Azure handed each of them 1 gold and 1 silver, keeping the extra for himself, feeling that was fair since this was his quest.

“Shall we Rock, Paper, Scissors for who gets what? Or do you guys have a preference?” Azure looked from Lonnell to Janine.

“I kind of want the Strike Ring,” Janine confessed.

“And I want the Ring of Fortune. But I’m sure you want it, too.” Lonnell locked his gaze with Azure.

Azure was torn between wanting the ring and the Small Skill Token. Ultimately, though, the Ring of Fortune would be more valuable to him in the long run, especially if he planned to master magic.

“Yeah. Let’s Rock, Paper, Scissors for all of it,” he decided finally.

“Why all of us? If neither you or I want the Strike Ring, she can have it.” Lonnell nodded in Janine’s direction.

“True.” Azure promptly handed the Strike Ring over to Janine.

A smile spread across her lips as she slipped the ring onto her finger.

“All right. Let’s go.” Azure balled his hand into a fist and placed it on his palm. “We’ll Rock, Paper, Scissors for the Ring of Fortune. Loser gets the Small Skill Token.”

“Sounds fair.” Lonnell nodded in agreement.

Then the count began.

Azure had hoped that placing points in Luck would have helped him, but no dice. Lonnell ended up with the ring, but Azure wasn’t heartbroken about it. The man had won fair and square.

Azure handed the Ring of Fortune over, and the three of them walked outside.

“So, what are you guys going to do now?” he asked, turning to his friends.

Lonnell gazed toward the inn. “I’m going to find Uden and see if he wants to take on a quest together. Maybe we can find an Easy or Medium bounty.”

“And you?” Azure looked at Janine.

“It’s back to Monster quests for me. Which means back into The Adventurers Guild.” Her body was already twisted slightly, as if she was ready to depart and continue on with her business.

“I suppose I’ll meet up with guys at the tavern later then. I’m going to go sell my loot, then take the rest of the day off before starting back to Hawking’s tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. See you guys later.” Janine waved over her shoulder as she headed back inside.

Lonnell was about to leave as well when Azure stopped him.

“What is it?” he asked.

“We have about a week left until rent is due. Depending on how much I made from our quest, I’m going to start renting my own room.”

“Really? Still wanting to waste money.” Lonnell smirked at him.

“Three dudes. One bed. It’s a little crowded for my taste.”

“Well, then I suppose you will want to do more Bounty quests in the near future. Rooms at the inn aren’t cheap.”

“Yeah. Probably. We’ll see for now, though.” Azure glanced in Malina’s direction. Her cart was parked in its usual spot, and she was busy smiling at a customer as she sold him a bouquet. Janine’s words rang through Azure’s mind about not wanting to try to start any relationships in The Realm. Maybe it was best for him not to try either. While he didn’t know if he was stuck here for eternity or not, there was no point in hurting someone else if he would one day be sent back to his own world. That seemed a crazy way to think, though. For all he knew, this could be his permanent new life. He admittedly hadn’t placed much thought into trying to get back.

“All right. Well, let me know what you ultimately decide. We still have time. And remember that we’re all trying to save money.” Lonnell gave him a pointed look.

Azure had admittedly expected him to argue more, but it seemed that Lonnell had other pressing concerns. He walked back toward the inn, and Azure turned his attention to Malina. He took a step in her direction, then thought better of it and went to the blacksmith instead. While he didn’t need to buy any weapons, Azure had grown to enjoy doing business with Garion.

“What do you have for me today?” the burly man asked, wiping his hands on a cloth before walking over.

Azure pulled the items he had for sale out of his Bag of Holding one at a time, creating a pile on one of Garion’s tables. The blacksmith examined them before offering a sum, “36 gold, 9 silver, 6 copper. You must have just finished a bounty quest.” He smiled.

“That I did.” Azure shoved the items toward Garion to show that he wanted the coin. “For the sake of curiosity, how much is this worth?” He slapped the Black Barbed Whip down on the table.

“Oh. Whoa! This is an interesting item.” Garion abandoned fishing out the coin to look at the whip, picking it up by the handle and letting it out. “Step back for a second.”

Azure did as he was told and then watched the blacksmith snap the whip with far more skill than Azure thought the man would have with such a weapon.

“This is a damage dealer.” Garion nodded, pleased. “And an extremely rare piece. More of a woman’s weapon, if I’m being honest, but still incredibly expensive.”

“So how much?” Azure gestured for him to continue.

The blacksmith looked the weapon over as if it examining it for flaws. “Hm. I would give you 30 gold, 3 silver, 3 copper for it.”

“30 gold! Are you serious?” Azure’s mouth dropped open. “That’s almost as much as you’re giving me for all of this stuff. “His gaze shifted to the pile of items on the table.”

“Like I said, it’s an extremely rare item. In fact, I’ve never seen anything like it before. I probably wouldn’t be able to sell it, but I know who would. So, do you want to sell it?”

“No.” He shook his head, reaching for the whip. “At least, not yet. Probably in the future. But I’m going to keep it for now for the stat boosts.”

“You don’t get the boosts if you don’t have it equipped,” Garion reminded him.

“Yeah.” Azure affixed the whip to his belt, being careful not to stick himself with the barbs.

Once the blacksmith handed over the coin owed, Azure thanked him and went on his way. He still had a bit more shopping to do before he could return to the inn and relax.

Thinking that he was overdue for a local adventure, Azure detoured to the alchemy shop, even though it was a bit out of his way. The inside was about what he had expected it to be. Bottles and vials of various liquids lined the shelves, and there was an atelier in the back behind a counter. The large cauldron bubbled with a lime green liquid that filled the shop with the scent of chemicals. A coil of incense burned on the counter to combat the smell, but it was fighting a losing battle. Azure wrinkled his nose as he browsed the selection, not sure which disgusted him more, the chemical odor that seemed to permeate every fragment of oxygen in the room or the exorbitant prices of the potions.

This is highway robbery, he thought as he picked up one potion that cost almost as much as he’d made on his Bounty quest.

“Can I help you?” a feminine voice came from behind Azure, and he turned to see a petite woman with a cropped haircut. With a smattering of freckles covering her rosy cheeks and a short, stubby nose, she looked young.

“Jasmyne Swailes?” he asked.

“Yes. That’s me.” She smiled up at him.

“Hi. My name is Azure. I’ve done some work for you through The Adventurers Guild.”

“Oh.” Jasmyne perked up. “That’s very kind of you. I’m always in need of ingredients. What can I help you with?”

“It’s a nice shop you have here.” He looked around.

“Thanks.” She stood patiently before him, her hands clasped in front of her.

“Now I’m the one in need of ingredients.”

The corners of her lips dipped slightly. “I’m sorry, but I don’t sell ingredients here. Only complete potions. I can recommend Zach’s shop, though. It’s on the right corner of town square closest to us.” Jasmyne made an inward motion with her hand. “He usually carries alchemy components for basic recipes. He’s got gray hair and mutton chops. Kind of hard to miss.”

Azure thanked her and went on his way, feeling a bit guilty for not buying anything. Seeing the prices of her items made him think he was in the wrong business. Leaning alchemy could be very profitable. In fact, now that he thought about it, there was a pretty good loophole for making money just by crafting Potions of Minor Healing.

With nothing better to do, Azure thought he might take the rest of the day to exploit it. He went to Zach’s stall with the plans to buy up as many Empty Vials, Garlic, and Red Mushrooms as he could. Of course, the merchant ended up having a limited supply, but Azure still bought him out for 2 gold and 7 silver.

You have received the following item:

Empty Vial

Quantity: 59

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Alchemy Component

Red Mushroom

Quantity: 64

Uses: Alchemy component, Restores +10 HP if eaten

Garlic

Quantity: 12

Uses: Alchemy component, Restores +15 HP if eaten

As it was, the loophole wouldn't work because he would actually need every potion he made this round. Maybe he'd return after completing his magic school quest and see if the man had restocked.

Azure visited a few more merchants in search of Garlic but ended up returning to the inn empty-handed. The room was blessedly vacant, so he was able to sit and craft Potions of Minor Healing in peace, using up all 12 bulbs of Garlic and about two hours of his time.

You have received the following item:

Potion of Minor Healing

Quantity: 6

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Heals 30 HP

Potion of Minor Healing

Quantity: 5

Item Class: Common

Quality: Poor

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Heals 25 HP.

Potion of Minor Healing

Quantity: 1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Good

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Heals 35 HP.

Once that was done, Azure decided to pull up his character sheet to figure out where to assign his newly acquired characteristic points from leveling up. He also had his Small Skill Token to spend and had saved back the ability to level two of his skills.

Name: Azure

Race: Human

Level: 12, 22% of the way to next level

Health: 203 / 300

Mana: 310 / 270 (320)

Stamina: 310 / 290 (320)

Vitality: 18

Intelligence: 15 (5)

Strength: 17 (3)

Agility: 14

Dexterity: 13

Charisma: 11

Luck: 12

Skills: Archery Lvl 4; 75% of the way to next level

Stealth Lvl 3; 93% of the way to next level

Analyze Lvl 10; 82% of the way to next level

Cooking Lvl 5; 52% of the way to next level

Alchemy Lvl 4; 68% of the way to next level

Foraging Lvl 10; 76% of the way to next level

One-Handed Weapons Lvl 9; 8% of the way to next level

Tracking Lvl 2; 40% of the way to next level

Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 6; 55% of the way to next level

Fishing Lvl 3; 0% of the way to next level

Drinking Lvl 2; 25% of the way to next level

Land Magic Lvl 2; 55% of the way to next level

Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue, Elvish

Adventurer Rank: E

It seemed the easiest choice, so Azure uses his Small Skill Token on Archery. All he had to do was think about spending the token on Archery to have it add its point to the skill and evaporate in his hand. Instantly, he received a notification.

Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 5. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

New Subskill Acquired: Focus – You can now zoom in on enemies and targets. Cost: 5 Mana

A new subskill. Sweet!

Azure wasted no time drawing his bow to try out his new subskill. He pretended to take aim without an arrow. He didn’t draw back the bowstring, just simply looked where he normally would if about to loose. Nothing happened. “Hmm.”

Maybe an arrow had to be nocked for it to work.

Azure drew an arrow from his quiver and set it on the arrow rest. Then he nocked it before drawing back, aiming at the lantern on the beside table. Focus, he thought, concentrating all of his energy on activating the subskill.

In an instant, his vision zoomed in. Every tiny fiber of fabric making up the wick was clearly distinguishable. Azure loosened his pull on the bowstring and shook his head. Seeing everything amplify so quickly was a bit jarring.

After a moment, he tried again, focusing on not zooming in quite so much. To his excitement, he found that he had full control over how much he could visually enlarge whatever was in front of him, though it still expended the same amount of Mana every time he used the subskill. This would take some getting used to, but it would definitely be helpful in battle.

Sliding the arrow back into its quiver, Azure returned his attention on the task at hand. He still had characteristic points to assign and skills to level.

While he had planned to wait and use his skill leveling ability on his Two-Handed Weapons skill, it was too far away from leveling, and he didn't want to compact too many skill leveling abilities by waiting for it. Archery was primed and ready to be leveled again, so Azure decided to double level it instead. It was a skill he used fairly often, after all.

Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 6. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 7. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

As for his characteristic points, Azure decided to dump his first one into Luck. He certainly hadn't felt very lucky during all of the Rock, Paper, Scissors games they'd played. To balance himself out more, Azure threw his last two points into Dexterity and Vitality. Losing Stamina hadn't been a big issue lately. It seemed that the stronger he got, the less of a problem it would be.

Satisfied with his decisions, Azure closed his character sheet and moved to the bed. Since Lonnell and Uden weren't around, there was no harm in sleeping on it. Though he didn't doubt that Lonnell would wake him once they returned. For now, he just wanted to sleep off as much of his hangover as he could. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE REALM – Day 78

By some miracle, Lonnell didn't chase Azure out of bed. He awoke early the next morning—earlier than he would have liked—to find both Lonnell and Uden curled up on the floor. Gently shaking Lonnell to wake him, Azure told him to get up onto the bed before taking his leave.

Hawking's School of Land Magic was two hours away on foot, but he was able to make good time since he'd left so early. Upon arrival, Azure asked Miss Ogden, the receptionist, to point him in the direction of the school store so that he could buy the Teleportation Prisms he needed to complete his quest.

For the first time, Azure was sent down the right side of the building instead of the left.

The school store was small and filled with a variety of oddities. He spent a few minutes browsing around, noticing how expensive everything was. Honestly, Azure wasn't surprised. It seemed that anything to do with magic or alchemy cost a small fortune. Several of the potions he had seen at Jasmyne's alchemy shop lined one of the shelves, and the prices were even more inflated than they had been in Squall's End. He shook his head, wondering who actually bought these things. Probably desperate, wealthy students who didn't want to go to town for the supplies they needed to complete their quests. To only be so lucky as to not have to worry about money. As it was, just the two Teleportation Prisms were going to take a large chunk out of Azure's savings.

A bored-looking woman stood behind the counter, her nose tucked into a book. Strands of sandy blonde hair fell in front of her face from her messy updo. She looked all the part of a student tasked with something she didn't give a shit about. Azure probably could have robbed the place blind in the time it took for her to notice him.

He grabbed what he needed and headed to the counter, dropping the prisms next to the woman's book. She glanced at them, then up at him. “Quest paper,” she said in a monotone voice.

Azure shuffled through his bag for it before handing the paper over. She took it and the prisms into a small room behind the counter, reappearing about five minutes later.

Yup, I could definitely rob this place blind.

“That will be 14 gold,” she told him unenthusiastically.

He gave her the money, and she handed him back the prisms and his quest sheet.

You have received the following item:

Teleportation Prism

Quantity: 2

Item Class: Rare

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Teleports user from one location to another. You must have two Teleportation Prisms of the same type for this to work.

“Happy travels,” she told him dryly before burying her nose back in her book.

“Thanks,” he replied weakly, turning away to leave.

Azure wasn’t sure what she had done to the prisms. Perhaps calibrated them to the right destination. Whatever the case, he should be good to go.

Part of him wanted to ask Miss Ogden, just to be sure, but when he returned to the front of the building, she wasn’t at her desk.

Oh well. Time for another adventure.

Azure waited until he was outside of the building. Then he placed one of the prisms in his Bag of Holding before staring down at the other one. From what he remembered from his quest with Valerio Smyth, all Azure needed to do was crush the Teleportation Prism in his palm, and it would whisk him away to his destination. It was crazy to think that such a small thing could teleport him such a long distance. And it was a bit disconcerting knowing that the location was unknown to him. There was no way for him to tell where he’d materialize.

Thinking about it stressed Azure out, so he tried not to. No doubt, he’d end up somewhere safe. It wasn’t like the prism would drop him in the middle of a field full of monsters.

Taking a deep breath, he looked down at the small green object in his hand, feeling hesitation warp through him as he tried to close his palm around it. This was the same thing that had happened to him last time. For some reason, the way the prisms worked spooked him.

“Suck it up,” he whispered to himself, closing his eyes and forcing his fist to clench, the prism breaking.

When Azure opened his eyes again, he was standing in the middle of a dark office. A gnome sat behind a miniature desk, his white hair parted in the middle and slicked to the sides, a monocle over his right eye. He looked up at Azure, not seeming startled by his sudden appearance at all.

“Oh good, Hawking’s must have sent you to refill our barrels.” The gnome’s voice was low and gritty, like someone who had smoked about a thousand too many cigarettes.

“Yes, sir. Azure Galvan reporting for duty.” He thought to salute but then stopped himself.

“Right this way, lad.” The gnome walked around his desk to lead the way.

Azure had expected the door to open to a hallway, but blindingly bright light greeted them as they stepped out into a large stone quarry. Machines drowned the world out with sound as they cut and processed the stone around them, each one manned by a gnome. It was one of the craziest things Azure had ever seen.

The gnome foreman led Azure around the side of his small shack where lines of barrels were waiting to be filled with oil. “Pry the top off and fill the ones that are empty. You’re limited to five, in case another student shows up. Come back inside when you’re done.” And with that, the gnome returned to his office.

Azure began prying the lid off of one of the barrels, but the scene around him had him distracted. Thinking that he had traveled so far made him want to explore a bit after he was finished completing his quest. After all, he was now all the way across Patheana. Things here must be a lot different than in Squall’s End. The fact that only gnomes worked at the quarry was a testament to that.

Better finish this first, Azure thought, finally removing the first lid.

He placed his fingers over the barrel and cast Grease, filling it full before moving on to the next. It took him a little less than an hour to fill all the required barrels, a Very Easy quest, no doubt. When he was done, he considered wandering off to explore but decided to return to the foreman to check in first.

Azure knocked twice, waiting for an invitation before entering. When he opened the door, the gnome offered him a soft smile. “Easy work, eh?”

“Easy, indeed,” Azure agreed with a nod. “I was wondering if I might explore a bit before returning to the school.” He thumbed back toward the door.

The gnome’s smile faltered, and he shook his head. “I’m sorry, kid, but roaming around here without a permit is prohibited.”

Well, that sucks.

“How do I get a permit?” It would probably be expensive, just like everything else in The Realm.

“I could issue you a temporary, but I have no reason to. No offense, but we don’t much take to outsiders around here. Got to protect our secrets and all.” He sounded proud about that last bit.

Azure frowned. “I just spent 14 gold on Teleportation Prisms. I traveled all the way across Patheana to get here. I had hoped I would at least be able to see more of this part of the...country,” he hesitated. Was Patheana a country?

The gnome didn’t correct him. “Rules are rules.”

It still didn’t seem fair. “Fine. I suppose I’ll head back then.”

“Send my regards to Elise,” the gnome said before returning his attention to the paperwork on his desk.

“I will,” Azure promised weakly before digging in his Bag of Holding for his second Teleportation Prism.

Such a waste, he thought as he stared down at it, now afraid to crush it for a different reason. When would he get a chance to see this part of the country again? Was there really no way for him to explore? For once, he wasn’t broke. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a mini-vacation.

Glancing at the gnome, it was as if Azure had already disappeared. The small man had no further interest in him, pretending that he wasn’t there.

With a sigh, Azure forced his hand to shut on the prism, crushing it. This time, he didn’t close his eyes. Green sparks invaded his vision for a fraction of a second before it became distorted, the world sucking down with a dizzying effect. He blinked, opening his eyes to find himself standing in front of a shelf lined with Teleporation Prisms. Before he had time to process where he was, the clerk from the school store came around the corner.

“How was your trip?” she asked, seeming no more excited to see him than before.

“Short,” he grumbled.

Looking around, there were a bunch of oddities lining the shelves. He wondered what they were all used for but didn’t have time to examine anything before she was leading him back to the customer side of the counter.

Azure thanked her and took his leave, heading straight to the reception desk. Of course, there was no hope for a meeting with Elise today. Miss Ogden scheduled an appointment for him first thing in the morning, and he headed back toward Squall’s End, foraging along the way.

He was able to level his Foraging skill one more time, but no new perks were garnered from it. Briefly, Azure considered fishing, but he really wanted to return to Zach’s stall and see if he had gotten a new shipment of alchemy components in. Work smarter, not harder, as they say.

As luck would have it, the man had restocked. Azure was able to purchase 3 Empty Vials, 20 Red Mushrooms, and 78 Garlic for 2 gold and 2 copper. He sold the 9 Fireweed he had harvested for 1 silver thanks to his new Foraging perk.

When he returned to his room at the inn, Uden and Lonnell were absent, so he sat in the same spot he had the day before and pulled out his mortar and pestle. Azure was able to complete 20 potions before his Stamina fell to the point that he was about to pass out from exhaustion. At least, he was able to level his Alchemy skill before that happened.

Congratulations! The skill: Alchemy has reached Level 5. There are many uses for potions. Hone this skill to heal yourself in battle and thwart your enemies!

You have received the following item:

Potion of Minor Healing

Quantity: 12

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Heals 30 HP

Potion of Minor Healing

Quantity: 8

Item Class: Common

Quality: Poor

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Heals 25 HP.

It still didn't feel like enough for him to sell. He had been entering dungeons mostly unprepared. Having at least fifty Potions of Minor Healing on hand before his next dangerous adventure would be nice. Maybe once he hit that number, he would cull out the Poor quality ones. They probably wouldn't be worth as much, but they should still sell for more than the cost of the ingredients needed to make them.

Pleased with himself, Azure drifted off to sleep on the bed once more, feeling a bit spoiled for having gotten it two nights in a row.

Lonnell and Uden didn’t return that night, which Azure assumed meant that they had gone on a quest for The Adventurers Guild. He left bright and early the next morning to make his appointment at Hawking’s, not bothering to Forage along the way since he wanted to be on time. Besides, he already had a pretty good stockpile of Blue Mushrooms and Wild Onions.

Miss Ogden gestured for him to go back when he arrived, and Elise greeted him with a smile.

“That didn’t take you anywhere near as long as you made it sound like it would,” she told him as he handed his quest sheet over.

Congratulations! Magic School Quest: A Well-Oiled Machine has been completed.

Thanks to your efforts, the gnomes of Oxbell will have the grease needed to oil their machines for a while. You have earned 180XP.

“Very nice,” Azure said with a smile.

“So I guess you’re ready to learn your last spell in novice land magic.” The land magic professor already had the spell scroll sitting on top of her desk.

“I am definitely ready.” He took it from her when she handed it over.

Azure unrolled the scroll and read its details.

You have received the following item:

Spell Scroll: Woodflesh

Quantity: 1/1

Weight: 0.0 kg

Mana Cost: 20

Range: Self

Cooldown: Six Minutes

Magic Class: Land

Uses: Your skin stiffens into the consistency of wood. Adds +20 armor to the caster.

The image on the scroll was that of a man-tree hybrid. Azure couldn’t help but wonder if that’s how he would look once he cast the spell.

“I’m kind of excited for this one,” he confessed. Buffs were always nice to have, especially in difficult battles. Azure just wished he could use the skill on others.

“Let’s go, then.” The dwarven woman stood and motioned for him to follow her outside.

The process of absorbing the spell was the same as all the ones before it. Azure knelt and placed the scroll on the ground, then he rested one hand atop it and the other on the dirt, creating a chain between himself, the scroll, and the land. Closing his eyes, words came to him unbidden as power flowed through the earth up into his arm, extending and spreading throughout the rest of his body. “I came from the land, and to the land, I will return. With the blessing of Finborh, I bring the land unto me, knowing that I will give back to it on my final day.”

Congratulations! You have learned the land spell: Woodflesh. The strength of the forest will protect you in battles to come as long as you summon it.

The energy and tingling that had flowed through him during the memorization process faded away, and Azure opened his eyes. A pictureless scroll lay beneath his palm, quickly disintegrating to join the earth.

“Congratulations!” Elise clasped her hands together as he stood. “You now know all of the novice land magic spells. Now all you have left to do is complete the quest that I give you, then level up your land magic to 25, and you can start training to become an Apprentice Land Mage.”

Azure nodded. Level 25 seemed so far away. None of his skills had reached anywhere near that yet. Considering all the other magic he wanted to learn, Azure wondered if he’d even ever get there.

“Let’s go back inside.” The land magic professor turned and started walking back toward the building.

He followed Elise to her office and waited patiently while she opened the drawer full of quest papers and sorted through them.

“Ah. This one should do.” She slid a paper across to him. “Since this is your last quest for novice land magic, I feel that something a bit more complex than the last two is appropriate.”

Azure leaned over to look at it.

Magic School Quest: Clean Up Chelmsmont Hole

Chelmsmont Hole is a great place to gather some rare alchemy components. Unfortunately, it's also one of the favorite nesting grounds for shade and gray beetles. Do the alchemy students a favor and go clear it out for them. Also, bring back 4 Shade Beetle Carapaces for the less melee-inclined students.

Difficulty: Easy

Success: Kill 10 Shade Beetles

Kill 10 Gray Beetles

Loot and return 4 Shade Beetle Carapaces to Hawking's School of Land Magic

Failure: Cancel quest

Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

“This is quite a bit,” he admitted, surprised.

“Yes, but it will allow you to use all of the skills you’ve learned here.”

Azure pulled up his map to see where Chelmsmont Hole was. It was a full day’s walk away, seemingly out in the middle of nowhere. He groaned internally, hating to spend the night in the unknown without companions. Maybe Janine would want to go with him. It might be worth returning to town to fetch her. Besides, without her bestiary, he was clueless as to what part of gray beetles was valuable. Maybe it was their carapace, too?

“When you return, make an appointment to turn your quest in with me. Then you’ll be all done with this semester of land magic. You won’t be able to take any more classes from the school until you turn this quest in,” she said, standing to walk him out.

Azure was still mulling over whether or not he wanted to return to Squall’s End for Janine when they reached the door. Before Elise had a chance to disappear back inside, he turned to her. “The gnome foreman in Oxbell told me to give you his regards, but I didn’t catch his name.”

“Oh, well that was nice of him.” She seemed pleasantly surprised. “It’s Kritlergozz, by the way. But we all call him Kritler here. It’s easier.”

“People don’t seem too keen about giving out their names around here.” He knitted his brow slightly.

“Names are usually on a need-to-know basis. If you’re not likely to interact with that person frequently, then what’s the point of giving them your name?” Elise looked at him as if he was odd for being bothered by it.

“It’s polite,” Azure told her pointedly.

“Most people think it’s a waste of time.” She shrugged. “Anyway, good luck on your quest.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE REALM – Day 79

While Azure had all the time in the world to complete the quest, the thought of adding additional hours to his journey just for the sake of companionship seemed like a gigantic waste of time. If he didn't know how to get the shade beetles' carapaces off, he could always just stuff the whole body into his Bag of Holding like he had done with the giant crayfish that he had taken to Garion because he didn't know what part of it was valuable. Besides, Azure also had his Loot Automizer Pendant that he had yet to use. And the sooner he finished this quest, the sooner he could start learning another class of spells.

Sucking up his loneliness and discontent, Azure headed toward the location marked on his map. Knowing that he wouldn't reach Chelmsmont Hole before nightfall, he took his time, foraging along the way. As he walked, he wondered what type of alchemy components he'd find at the quest location. Since there would likely be no one around to rush him or chase him off, Azure decided he'd invest some time in exploring the area and gathering what he could. Who knew when the alchemy ingredients would come in handy?

One interesting thing he discovered was that as soon as his Blue Mushroom supply hit 99, the remaining Blue Mushrooms funneled into a new slot in his Bag of Holding. Of course, there was no good reason for Azure to have so many Blue Mushrooms. As soon as he returned to Squall's End, he would sell off the rest. But it was nice to know that each slot held a capacity of 99 for stacked items.

The first time his stomach growled, Azure became painfully aware that he didn't have any source of protein left on him since he'd eaten his last sardine in the dungeon. He tried to pull through by nibbling on his supply of Blue Mushrooms. When the sun began to set, Azure went off to hunt before making camp for the night.

He was lucky enough to spot a wild hare nosing around in some foliage. Now was the time to put his new archery subskill to practice.

Azure nocked an arrow and drew back his bowstring, aiming for the hare's head. Overcompensating, he zoomed in too far, magnifying not only every hair on the animal's head but also the mites clinging to it. It made the hare seem much less appetizing, but he'd be skinning the animal anyway, so what did the bugs really matter.

Sensing a predator nearby, the hare turned. Azure's vision blurred, causing a wave of nausea akin to vertigo. He quickly released the zoom to regain his bearings. Though spooked, the hare only hopped a few paces away.

Azure tried zooming in again, magnifying the hare's head in his vision without drilling in so deep that he saw it on a cellular level. This time, the effect was less dizzying. It was as if the hare was a mere few feet in front of him. Taking a breath to steady himself, Azure released the arrow.

Critical hit! Defeated Level 3 Wild Hare. 15XP rewarded.

Satisfied with his kill, he made camp for the night, then skinned the hare and set its body over the fire he'd created with some of his torch supplies. Luckily, he didn't burn the meat to a crisp thanks to his low Cooking skill.

Sleep didn't come easily. It never did in a strange part of The Realm. The sounds of unfamiliar nighttime creatures forced him to stay on guard, even though none of them would approach the fire. Fire seemed to be monster repellant in The Realm. At least, it worked well on the non-humanoid beasts.

In the morning, Azure ate five Blue Mushrooms for breakfast and then went on his way.

The topography of the forest looked much the same as the rest of Patheana. Trees gave way to more trees. Azure mostly followed game trails toward his destination, branching off to push his way through the foliage whenever they deviated too much from the linear path he was trying to maintain.

Finally, the forest opened into a small clearing. Chelmsmont Hole was just that, a hole about ten feet in diameter. Apprehensively, Azure approached the perimeter, noticing how dark it was inside. The ground seemed to slope deeply inward with rocks for footing, his sight only extending a few yards in before the lip of the hole cut the rest from view. This was going to require a torch, Azure realized before taking the time to search the area for a suitable piece of wood to make one from.

Once his torch was crafted and lit, Azure took a deep breath and descended into the hole. Almost immediately, he heard the skittering of six-legged creatures, and a beetle about the size of his foot appeared from the darkness. Azure quickly activated Analyze to assess the threat.

Level 6 Shade Beetle.

Looking like a mix between a crab and an insect, the shade beetle had a round carapace and clawed pincers. The body shape and rusty red color reminded Azure of some type of ladybug, though it didn't have spots. Its eyes were completely white, set behind two short mandibles.

Azure expected to have to scramble to defend himself as it attacked, but the beetle simple remained in place, staring at him curiously.

Am I even going to need to use any of my spells? He thought, clearing his mind to cast Woodflesh anyway.

Azure held his torch with one hand, then made a sign in the air with his other. There was a strange cracking sound like the splitting of wood, and the smell of cedar filled his nostrils as his body began to harden. Glancing down at his arm, he felt no different, but he knew that the spell had worked. The image of the man-tree hybrid appeared in green in his peripheral vision to show him that the status was in effect.

Unable to manage his Bergen's Glaive with only one hand, Azure decided to try his luck with the Black Barbed Whip. There was no one he could hurt here, so he might as well get some in practice.

Feeling a bit guilty for attacking a creature that clearly had no interest in fighting him, Azure let out the whip and drew it back, trying to remember how he'd seen Garion wield it. For all of his One-Handed Weapons experience, Azure sucked. His first strike hit the wall, causing dirt and rock fragments to go flying everywhere and the shade beetle to retreat back into the safety of the darkness.

Azure cursed as he rolled the whip back up. The space was far too small for him to be swinging it about. It reminded him of the first episode of an anime he had watched where the guy brought a longsword into a tight cave and ended up getting murdered by a horde of goblins when the blade got lodged in the ceiling. The lesson was that no matter where you were, it was always important to have the right weapon for the job.

With a sigh, Azure switched to his Bronze Sword. It was an inferior weapon to everything else he currently owned, but it was the best-suited for the small space. Proceeding onward, he quickly caught up with the shade beetle. Another one came into the light a few feet away, seeming equally disinterested in attacking him.

Briefly, Azure considered using one of his other spells on them, but what was the point. It took two quick hacks of his sword to kill them both, his foes showing no resistance.

Defeated Level 6 Shade Beetle. 36XP rewarded.

Defeated Level 5 Shade Beetle. 30XP rewarded.

Once the two were slain, Azure stood over their corpses. He'd cracked the carapace on both of them, so he hoped they were still salvageable. Peeling them off seemed like the best way to remove them. They looked like wings, so they should come off one piece at a time.

Maybe because he had cracked the carapaces, using his Loot Automizer Pendant would be a smarter idea this time around. Azure lifted the pendant and pointed it at the first shade beetle. The body began to glitter a soft shade of pink, and it particles of it rose into the air and disintegrated into nothing. There was a small pinkish sphere the size of Azure's palm left behind. He bent to pick it up. As soon as he did, it began to transform into something else.

You have received the following item:

Shade Beetle Mandible

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

“Well, that’s not what I’d wanted.” Azure gazed down at the decapitated mouth of the beetle.

Though using the pendant now felt like a waste, he debated on trying it again. Surely, he’d get the carapace of the next one. But first...

Azure knelt and broke the mandible off of the second beetle. Maybe he could double-tap the kill for items if he looted it and then used the pendant on it afterward. And hey, maybe using the pendant hadn’t been such a waste after all. At least now he knew that the mandible was of value. Removing it wasn’t rocket science either.

You have received the following item:

Shade Beetle Mandible

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

Once he'd stuffed the mandible in his Bag of Holding, Azure pointed the pendant at the rest of the beetle. Instead of it starting to glitter, a notification popped up.

You have already looted this kill.

Wait. What? What about the carapace? Had he really destroyed it when he'd crushed the beetle beneath his sword? If so, he'd need to find a new plan of attack for killing them.

A bit disappointed, Azure cast Woodflesh again and continued further into the cave. Only a few steps in, another beetle waited for him. This one was about twice the size of the first, and instead of red, its carapace was gray. Azure quickly Analyzed it.

Level 8 Gray Beetle.

It skittered toward him a few inches, then backed away. As soon as Azure held his sword up and presented himself as a threat though, the beetle charged, snapping its pincers. With the level difference between them, it was no match for the hostile human. Azure smashed through its carapace as easily as someone cracking a boiled egg on a counter. The gray beetle's body sunk to the ground with one blow, its legs flailing to its sides once and then stilling.

Defeated Level 8 Gray Beetle. 56XP rewarded.

Damn, this is going to be easy. Azure wasn't sure why it surprised him. None of the quests Hawking's had given him had been difficult. It was a school, after all. Not The Adventurers Guild. Hell, he was paying them to go on these quests, not the other way around. Whatever the case, a break from dungeon crawling and working his ass off was kind of nice. He'd enjoy it for what it was, a time waster to help him gain more experience with land magic.

Not wanting to use his pendant on an enemy whose parts weren't related to his quest, Azure took a shot in the dark and bent over to rip one of the gray beetle's mandibles off. He was rewarded with a notification.

You have received the following item:

Gray Beetle Mandible

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

“Score!” Maybe I don't need Janine's bestiary after all. Thinking that reminded him that he'd forgotten to ask about it when he was back at Hawking's.

There seemed to be an enemy every foot or so inside the cave, which made hunting easy. The very next one that Azure encountered was another shade beetle. This time, he dispatched of it with a quick stab to the face, though bending over to do so was a bit awkward. Blessedly, the carapace remained intact. Maybe he'd get lucky this time.

Defeated Level 7 Shade Beetle. 42XP rewarded.

Azure pointed the Loot Automizer Pendant at the body.

You have received the following item:

Shade Beetle Mandible

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He stared down at the item.

His next foe was a gray beetle. He killed it quickly and took the mandible, ready to move on, hoping he’d get a shade beetle carapace soon.

Defeated Level 9 Gray Beetle. 63XP rewarded.

You have received the following item:

Gray Beetle Mandible

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

Azure cast Woodflesh again and moved on, feeling like he was starting to fall into a rhythm. Shade beetles seemed to be more prominent in the cave than the gray beetles. It made him wonder if completing the quest would take a while. By the way that fighting was draining his Stamina, Azure might not wrap this up before the end of the day. Hopefully, he'd stumble upon some alchemy component that restored Stamina. It was long overdue.

Defeated Level 6 Shade Beetle. 36XP rewarded.

“One more time.” Azure pointed his Loot Automizer Pendant at the downed beetle.

The item that formed in his hand this time was both larger and heavier than the mandible.

You have received the following item:

Shade Beetle Carapace

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Uses: Alchemy Component, Crafting Component

“Fucking finally!” Azure whooped, looking the carapace over. It appeared to be in perfect condition. Round and smooth, yet fragile at the same time. After examining it for a few moments, he figured that he could probably remove the next one on his own without having to use the pendant.

A gray beetle emerged from the shadows. This time, Azure used the same face stabbing technique to down it.

Defeated Level 10 Gray Beetle. 70XP rewarded.

After defeating his enemy, Azure knelt next to it and tried to gently lift its carapace, but the shell-like structure was firmly affixed to the beetle’s body. Taking out his black dagger, Azure slipped the blade beneath the carapace. The body made a sickly crunching sound as he pierced it. Using the edge to work his way around the carapace, Azure tried to open the bug up like a tin can. Goo clung to his blade when he pulled the dagger out, and he screwed his face at it before wiping it on his leg.

Using his fingers this time, Azure attempted to carefully pry the carapace away from the body. It clung to the creature’s flesh like magnets trying to pull it back together. One good tug—an accidental show of too much force—and the carapace broke.

“Bloody hell.” He scowled.

All of that work for nothing.

Submitting to defeat, Azure settled for taking the monster's mandible instead. Perhaps he wasn't meant to take the carapace on this kind of beetle.

You have received the following item:

Gray Beetle Mandible

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

With a resigned sigh, Azure stood and put his dagger away before picking back up his torch to continue deeper into the cave. Before taking on the next shadow beetle he encountered, he quickly cast Woodflesh again, even though it wasn't needed. Not a single one of the beetles had managed to land a hit on him yet. Still, his efforts were rewarded with a notification.

Congratulations! The skill: Land Magic has reached Level 3. This skill allows you to harness the power of rocks, dirt, and the native flora and trees to aid you in battle. Continuing to level up this skill will unlock the ability to learn more spells of the same magic type.

Woo-hoo! Only 22 more levels to go before I can learn more land magic, Azure thought sarcastically.

He didn't even bother trying to pry the carapace off of the next gray beetle he encountered. Azure simple killed it, took the mandible, and moved on. Two more appeared before he saw another shade beetle. Perhaps their numbers were more even than he had first suspected.

With the gray beetles, he carelessly crushed their carapaces. For the shade beetles, he went for the face stab.

The small insect expired with a soft crunching sound, its eyes caving in toward each other.

Defeated Level 7 Shade Beetle. 42XP rewarded.

Azure picked up the body, feeling that it was much more delicate than the larger gray beetles. Wondering how best to approach, he first tried prying the carapace of with his fingertips. To Azure's surprise, it gave way fairly easily, popping off in one solid sheet, though the mandibles broke in the process.

You have received the following item:

Shade Beetle Carapace

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Uses: Alchemy Component, Crafting Component

“Nice.” He stared at the carapace for a moment in wonder before carefully placing it in his Bag of Holding.

The next hour was spent in the process of rinse and repeat. Every two kills, Azure would re-cast Woodflesh. There was a shift in the number of gray beetles versus shade beetles, and he was able to fill his quota of the first long before he finished off his ten shade beetles.

Despite being an Easy quest, there were rewards to killing so many of the weak insects. Azure leveled up his Analyze skill. He was also surprised when he gained a character level. All in all, it had been a great day even though he'd drained himself almost dry of Stamina.

Shakily, Azure uncorked a Potion of Minor Stamina, just wanting enough to get back to the entrance without passing out from exhaustion. As he walked back, he finally took the time to examine the walls of the cave. There was nothing notable on their surface, but at the base next to where the wall began, a fern-like plant was growing every few yards. Azure bent, running his fingers over the thin, soft leaves before gripping the plant near its roots and giving it a good tug.

You have harvested:

Cave Parsley

Uses: Alchemy component

Damn. He had really hoped it would be something to restore Stamina.

A decision had to be made whether Azure was going to spend the rest of his Stamina foraging or use it to go hunting and cook. He'd been subsisting off of Blue Mushrooms all day, and it just wasn't doing it for him. Alchemy components usually weren't worth much anyway.

Having made his decision, Azure braved the trek back to where he had set up camp the night before, figuring that he already knew it was a safe location. Staying near the mouth of the cave didn't seem like the smartest idea.

Once he had arrived, he detoured to go hunting, tracking down a wild boar rooting about a hundred yards away. Activating Stealth made a notification pop up.

Congratulations! The skill: Stealth has reached Level 4. This skill allows you to move silently about your enemies without them noticing. Attacks while in stealth mode will now deal 4% more damage.

Very nice, Azure thought before quickly refocusing his attention on the hunt.

A quick shot to the head with an arrow, and the boar fell to the ground.

Defeated Level 3 Boar. 18XP rewarded.

There's a lot of meat on this, Azure realized as he slung the dead boar over his shoulder to carry it back to camp. This should last me for a while

After butchering the animal, he only had enough Stamina left to cook two pieces of it. Burning the first to a crisp, Azure cursed himself. The Cooking skill was way more important than he gave it credit for.

You have cooked:

Burnt Boar

Uses: None. You wouldn't feed this to a troll you were trying to kill. Because the troll would know you were trying to kill it and would likely kill you instead.

Thankfully, the second piece came out edible. It was enough to fill his stomach and get him through the rest of the night.

Settling down under the stars, Azure pulled up his character sheet. It was time to assign his points and level a skill.

Name: Azure

Race: Human

Level: 13, 15% of the way to next level

Health: 254 / 320

Mana: 105 / 280 (330)

Stamina: 19 / 300 (330)

Vitality: 19

Intelligence: 15 (5)

Strength: 17 (3)

Agility: 14

Dexterity: 14

Charisma: 11

Luck: 13

Skills: Archery Lvl 7; 3% of the way to next level

Stealth Lvl 4; 0% of the way to the next level

Analyze Lvl 11; 5% of the way to next level

Cooking Lvl 5; 58% of the way to next level

Alchemy Lvl 5; 14% of the way to next level

Foraging Lvl 11; 89% of the way to next level

One-Handed Weapons Lvl 9; 32% of the way to next level

Tracking Lvl 2; 45% of the way to next level

Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 6; 55% of the way to next level

Fishing Lvl 3; 0% of the way to next level

Drinking Lvl 2; 25% of the way to next level

Land Magic Lvl 3; 23% of the way to next level

Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue, Elvish

Adventurer Rank: E

Upon seeing his sheet, Azure immediately decided to level Archery again.

Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 8. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true. Bows now do 20% more damage.

Oh, sweet! Another perk. That made Azure feel like he had chosen wisely.

Looking at the rest of his stats, he frowned at how dangerously low his Stamina was. Letting it get so bad hadn't been smart, but Azure felt pretty safe in the area. Hopefully, his sense of security wasn't naive. Increasing his Strength would do nothing to add Stamina to what he currently had available. The problem wasn't that Azure needed more Stamina, it was that he didn't have a way to restore it without sleeping. Well, he did have one more Potion of Minor Stamina left, but that was being saved back in case of an emergency.

Now that Azure was getting stronger, where he allocated his characteristic points seemed a lot less important. He threw one into Vitality so that his Health stats would match the rest. Then he threw another into Luck for funsies. The last, he decided to allocate to Dexterity.

With that done, Azure closed his character sheet and bedded down for the night, pure exhaustion from the loss of Stamina dragging him into sleep despite the nagging fear that something might try to attack him if it caught him unaware even though there was a fire strongly blazing beside him.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE REALM – Day 81

In no hurry the next morning, Azure took his time cooking more of the boar meat, producing two salvageable pieces. He ate one for breakfast and another during his walk back. Wanting to conserve his Stamina, Azure didn't bother foraging. The consistent issue with running low on Stamina made him want to shift his focus toward learning alchemy, specifically the Potion of Minor Stamina.

When he reached Hawking's School of Land Magic, Azure had a plan. He made several appointments for the next day, including one with Elise to turn in his quest. He also made appointments with the professors of life magic, battle magic, enchanting, and alchemy. It would be a long day, but hopefully, by the time he was done, Azure would know which direction he wanted to go in next.

With that finished, he returned to Squall's End, not reaching the town until after night had already fallen. Deciding he'd earned a beer for all of his hard work, Azure went to the tavern and was surprised to find Janine there sitting alone. He headed in her direction and took a seat beside her. She was halfway down a pint and had a rosy look to her cheeks.

“Hey there, buddy,” he said in greeting.

“Hey there.” Janine smiled at him.

“Good day? Bad day?” Usually one or the other was the cause of drinking so much.

“Okay day.” She flattened her palm in the air and tipped it back and forth like a scale. “Killed some monsters. Gained some experience. Collected some loot. Can’t really complain. What about you?”

“It’s been a pretty good last few days. Chill in comparison to the dungeon, for sure.” He nodded.

Her eyes widened in exaggerated agreement. “I know. It’s so nice to be out in the open air again. To fight familiar enemies.”

Azure glanced around the tavern, wondering if asking his next question would strike a chord. Still, he was interested to see how she’d react. “So, have you seen Uden and Lonnell around lately?”

Janine’s brow fell a bit, and she glared at him. “Is that all you came to ask me?”

“No. Of course not.” He jutted his head back. It hadn’t been. If he really cared to find them, he would have gone up to their room first.

She deflated a bit. “No, I haven’t seen them.” There was silence between them for a few moments, and then she spoke again. “So how are things going with magic school?”

“Good. I just finished my last quest for land magic. Now I think I want to learn some alchemy. I keep running out of Stamina, and there seems to be no way to fill it quickly without potions.”

“You should buy a bedroll,” she suggested before taking a long swig of beer.

“I should.” He hadn’t really thought of it before, but it would make sleeping at night more comfortable whenever he didn’t have a bed.

“Why haven’t you yet?”

Azure shrugged. “It just never seemed like a priority. I mean, I kind of got used to sleeping on the ground when I was back on Crescent Island.”

Janine shook her head. “That’s not why I’m telling you to get one.”

“Why, then?”

The barmaid brought over Azure’s beer, and he thanked her and slide two coppers in her direction.

You have received the following item:

Pint of Beer

Quantity: 1/1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Uses: Makes your worries feel less harrowing.

Effects: Increases strength by 3% for one hour

Decreases attack of all weapons and magic by 20% for one hour

Decreases Agility, Dexterity, Charisma, and Luck by 3 points for one hour

It tasted amazing after a long day of traveling.

“When you sleep on a bedroll, all of your stats heal up all the way in the middle of the night as long as you sleep a full eight hours,” she informed him.

“Really?” He perked up. Why hadn’t he heard of this before?

“Yup.” Janine took another drink of beer. “I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t know that either.” Or that Lonnell and Uden didn’t know it either. They all seemed utterly oblivious to the knowledge, sleeping on the ground like morons.

“Well, now you know.” She drained the rest of her beer and stood.

Azure looked up at her. “Leaving already?”

“Yup. I’ve got a quest I need to take care of in the morning.” Janine stared straight forward, not even glancing down at him. There was something weird about the way she acting. He couldn’t help but think it had something to do with what had gone on between her and Uden.

“Hey. We should quest together again sometime,” Azure told Janine as she began to walk away.

“Yeah,” she replied over her shoulder and then continued to the door.

He finished his beer in silence, following his same routine of Analyzing everyone who came and went. Sitting there by himself was boring and lonely, but it wasn’t like it was something he hadn’t done many times before.

When Azure went back up to his room, he found it empty. It made him wonder why they even bothered renting a room at all. They seemed to spend more time out in the field than in it. Perhaps he’d try renting per night instead of for a month at a time once their lease came up. Was it even called a lease here? Whatever the case, there was less than a week left on it.

Azure drifted off to sleep, waking early in the morning to head back to Hawking’s. While he would have liked to sell his loot at the market and look into buying a bedroll, there was no time.

His first appointment was with Elise. She greeted him with a smile, taking his quest paper and stamping 'Complete' on it once he'd handed over the required number of Shade Beetle Carapaces.

Congratulations! Magic School Quest: Clean Up Chelmsmont Hole has been completed.

You have slain the beastiest making it unsafe for alchemy students to venture into Chelmsmont Hole. They will be most appreciative to their nameless protector. You have also delivered a supply of Shade Beetle Carapaces for those too lazy to quest for them on their own. For your efforts, you are rewarded 260XP.

Once that business was completed, he moved on, hopping from professor to professor to check out what courses were available. Only about half of the life magic spells interested him. The battle magic spells were less appealing. For alchemy, the list of potions Azure would be able to learn seemed endless, though much like with magic, the professor told him that he would only be presented with three choices at a time, which would be randomly selected, so there was no telling whether or not he'd be getting the Potion of Minor Stamina recipe in his rotation anytime soon. Surprisingly, the most intriguing of the magic types was enchanting. Three of the five available spells for novice enchanters involved summoning, one of which gave him the ability to summon a horse for ten minutes. Azure hadn't seen many horses in The Realm. The convenience of being able to fast travel far outweighed his desire for healing spells or Stamina potions.

Much like Elise had done, the professor of enchanting tried to convince Azure to pay for a full semester up front. There was one spell in the mix that he didn't particularly care for. Without it, the rest of the spells would cost 10 gold, 6 silver, and 4 copper. If Azure tacked it on, the entire semester would be 11 gold, 5 silver, and 9 copper. Each spell cost 2 gold, 6 silver, and 6 copper individually, and there were 5 spells in all. Wanting to save money, he sucked it up and forked out for the entire semester.

Considering what had happened with needing the Teleportation Prisms for travel while he was learning land magic, Azure thought it would be best to save back at least 22 gold. He had exactly that much left plus a few coppers, and he still needed to buy supplies. Somehow, no matter how much money he had, he always seemed to end up feeling broke.

Mareike Nutlea, the professor of enchanting, was a tall willowy woman with a soft voice and large blue eyes. She wore a white flowy robe over equally billowy clothing, and her long blonde hair was held atop her head in a messy bun. There was a stoned quality to her, as if she was speaking through Azure and not to him. He found her to be intriguing.

“Come back tomorrow, and we'll get started.” She placed a hand on his back, walking him out.

Satisfied with his choice and ecstatic at the thought of eventually being able to summon his own mount, Azure returned to Squall's End with pep in his step. He Foraged along the way, though not enough to drain his Stamina dangerously low. Night fell, and he was forced to dig into his Bag of Holding for the materials for another torch to keep the nighttime creatures at bay. By the time Azure reached Squall's End, he was absolutely exhausted.

Uden and Lonnell were in the tavern having a beer. Azure took the empty seat next to the half-imp with a mix of happiness and disappointment. While it was great to cross paths with his roommates, it also meant he'd be sleeping on the floor for the night. That bedroll was looking more and more appealing.

“Ah, there’s our studious student,” Uden greeted him.

“I’ll be calling you that soon as well, I hope.” He glanced over at his friend, who seemed in a particularly chipper mood.

“In another quest or two,” the half-imp said. “I’m trying to get this one to go learn more alchemy.” He thumbed toward his brother.

“My only focus right now is saving up to buy a farm.” Lonnell looked determined. “And to do that, we need to go on more Bounty quests.” His gaze shifted to Azure.

“Sorry our goals aren’t aligning right now. Uden is right, though. You should learn more alchemy. I think I’ve found an exploit for making coin.”

The barmaid walked over, and Azure promptly ordered a beer.

You have received the following item:

Pint of Beer

Quantity: 1/1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Uses: Makes your worries feel less harrowing.

Effects: Increases strength by 3% for one hour

Decreases attack of all weapons and magic by 20% for one hour

Decreases Agility, Dexterity, Charisma, and Luck by 3 points for one hour

“Oh, do tell.” Uden leaned in with interest.

Suddenly remembering the limited supply of alchemy components for sale in Squall’s End, Azure thought better. There certainly wasn’t enough for all three of them to work the system without someone getting screwed over. “Never mind. I miscalculated.” He sank into his seat a bit.

The half-imp narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think you did.”

“But hey, I did learn something else.” Azure perked up, changing the focus to redirect Uden’s attention. “Did you guys know that if you sleep on a bedroll, all of your stats recharge overnight as long as you sleep a full eight hours?”

“I did not.” Lonnell seemed surprised. “That is certainly useful information.”

“You can thank Janine for that.”

“To Janine.” Uden raised his horn. “Quite the resourceful woman.” That last part was said with devious connotation.

“To Janine,” Azure said hesitantly, raising his glass as well.

“To Janine,” Lonnell parroted, and they all clinked their horns together before taking a long pull. “Speaking of which, I haven’t seen her around lately.”

“She’s off doing Monster quests. I saw her here last night,” Azure informed them.

“We should pull her in for our next bounty.”

“I’m not sure she’ll be up for it.” Azure cast a glance at Uden.

“Why wouldn’t she be?” The half-imp turned to him, looking innocent.

Azure picked up his beer and chugged the rest, then wiped his mouth on his arm before standing. “Well, I’ve had a long day, so I’m going to bed. I’ll sleep on the floor tonight. One of you guys can take the bed.”

Lonnell nodded at him in approval, and Azure left his friends to go upstairs and get some rest.

CHAPTER TWENTY

THE REALM – Day 83

Azure awoke before Uden and Lonnell and slipped out of the room to head down to the market. There was time to kill before he needed to be at Hawking's, so he ventured around town, restocking the supplies he needed.

The first things Azure bought were another flint, a bolt of linen, and a small bottle of oil to make torches with. That all set him back 9 silver and 6 copper. He considered buying a Potion of Minor Stamina, but the price was too rich for his blood. Besides, purchasing a bedroll was far more important. Those, Azure found, sold for 20 gold. The price made his asshole pucker.

About to be super broke again, he realized with a sigh, coughing up the coin. The bedroll would be worth buying if it fully restored his stats overnight. The item wasn't one-time consumable, nor did it have a durability, so he could use it indefinitely.

You have received the following items:

Flint

Quantity: 1

Durability: 10/10

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0 kg

Uses: Used to make a fire. Each use costs 1 Durability.

Bolt of Linen

Quantity: 1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting.

Small Bottle of Oil

Quantity: 1

Durability: 10/10

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting. Each use costs 1 Durability.

Simple Bedroll

Quantity: 1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 5.2 kg

Uses: Restores all stats by 1/8 per hour slept on. Stats cannot regenerate past their maximum.

Azure sold all of his loot from the beetle quest, earning him back a surprising 7 gold, 7 silver, and 4 copper. Then he set back out for Hawking's.

Deciding to save up his Stamina, Azure didn’t bother foraging. He had no idea what quest Mareike would send him on or how long it would take. It was best to be prepared.

Once he arrived at the school, Miss Ogden promptly sent him back to Mareike’s office for his first lesson. The layout was the same as Elise’s except for that there was a hodgepodge of magical-looking trinkets lying all about, and her desk was cluttered with papers in a disarray of unorganized chaos. She seemed surprised to see him when he walked in, as if she had forgotten that they had an appointment.

“Aster,” Mareike said, her blue eyes wide.

“Azure,” he quickly corrected her.

“Azure,” she parroted. “Oh. I’m so sorry.” Yet there was no sign of apology in her expression. “Today, you’re learning...” Mareike began shuffling through the papers on her desk. Azure could see that they were an even mixed mess of opened spell scrolls, quest sheets, and other various forms.

“I haven’t selected what spell I wanted to learn yet,” he helped her along.

“Oh. Of course.” She paused for a moment, cocking her head to the side as she read a paper turned sideways. Then she pulled a few from the pile and slid them toward him. “Here’s what I have available for you to choose from today.”

Azure raised an eyebrow. “One of these is a quest sheet.”

“Oh. Is it?” Mareike pulled all three papers back, removing the quest sheet and shuffling through her stack again until she found another spell to add to the mix. “There. That should be one.” She didn’t sound sure.

Is she even qualified to do this job? He tried not to give her a judging look, but it was so damn hard.

Withholding a sigh, Azure leaned back over the papers she had set in front of him to get a good look at them.

Spell Scroll: Transmute

Quantity: 1/1

Weight: 0.0 kg

Mana Cost: 10

Range: Items in hand

Cooldown: Three Minutes

Magic Class: Enchanting

Uses: Transform a piece of gold ore, silver ore, or copper ore into coins of equal value.

Spell Scroll: Volatile Bolt

Quantity: 1/1

Weight: 0.0 kg

Mana Cost: 20

Range: 40 feet

Cooldown: Three Minutes

Magic Class: Enchanting

Uses: Shoot a bolt that generates damage from a random element and creates a corresponding surface.

Spell Scroll: Summon Mount

Quantity: 1/1

Weight: 0.0 kg

Mana Cost: 20

Range: 6 feet

Cooldown: Ten Minutes

Magic Class: Enchanting

Uses: Summons a horse for 10 minutes. You cannot have more than one summon at a time.

The first spell was the one he didn't particularly care to learn. As it was, he had never encountered a piece of raw ore. And even if he did, transmuting it into coins wouldn't benefit him at all when he could just trade the same bit of ore into a merchant for coins. It seemed like a completely useless spell.

Summon Mount was the spell he had wanted the most, so he was thrilled to see it appear in the lineup. This was about to make his life so much easier.

“This one!” he said with as much zeal as he was feeling inside, sliding the Summon Mount spell over.

She twisted slightly to look at his selection. “Oh.” The tone of her voice rang with disappointment. “It’s a good spell,” Mareike nodded, “but there are a few things you should know.”

Rarely anything good came after the word but, Azure thought. He waited a moment for his professor to continue, but she suddenly zoned out, staring at a patch of wall behind him. Azure turned to see what she was gazing at so intently, but there was nothing there. When he turned back around, Mareike seemed to have come to life again, her eyes moving around her desk as if searching for something.

“What should I know?” he prodded her on.

“What?” She perked up.

“You said I should know something.” Azure gestured irritably under the desk, his hand hidden so that Mareike couldn’t see his mounting annoyance.

“About what?”

“About choosing the Summon Mount spell.” His voice rose an octave.

Oh my God, this woman is going to drive me crazy.

“Oh.” She glanced around the room again.

What is she looking for?

Mareike continued finally, “I was going to tell you that you can't use any of your other summoning spells while you are using this one.”

That was on the spell itself. Azure's eyebrows drooped.

“No familiars, slugs, monsters, dragonlings, elementals, or golems.” She listed them off on her fingers. “You can have totems and worms, though.”

Most of those were things he wouldn’t have access to as a novice enchanter, so he wasn’t sure why Mareike was bothering to mention them now. “Got it.”

“Also, if you don’t cast the enchanting magic to summon your horse before the ten minutes is up, it will disappear back into the void.”

That went without saying.

“So be careful. You don’t want to be at full gallop and then end up sailing in the air onto your bum.” She let out an awkward giggle.

That, at least, was a good point.

“And unlike a regular horse,” Mareike went on, “every time you cast the spell, the horse renews, so as long as you have enough Mana, your horse will be able to gallop indefinitely, helping you cover great distances faster.”

Finally, some useful information.

“Sweet! Anything else I need to know?”

She glanced up at the ceiling and tapped her chin a few times before spacing out again.

Azure gave her several moments before butting into whatever she was thinking. “Mrs. Nutlea.”

“It’s just Miss.” Her eyes shot back down to him. “Just Miss,” Mareike repeated. “My husband died a few years ago in a horrible rottingling accident.” She didn’t seem the least bit sad about it.

“I’m sorry...” It sounded more like a question than condolences.

“So I suppose you’re ready to learn that spell now?” Mareike inhaled deeply.

“Yes, please.”

“Take the scroll.” She gestured down to it before standing and turning to the wall behind her. “Bibbity.”

Did she just say Bibbity? Azure had to bite his tongue to keep from saying Bobbity Boo.

The wall began to shift, the wood creaking as it forced itself aside. For all the random odd pictures and bobbles she had affixed to the wall, they seemed sturdily held in place, the magic making them warp as the wood moved to create an entrance into another room.

Azure followed Mareike into the small space. It was about half the size of her office, the only thing inside a strange drawing on the floor in what appeared to be purple chalk. There was a large star inside an even bigger circle. Triangles were strategically placed in the center with some type of foreign writing scribbled all around. It vaguely reminded Azure of the drawings in the dirt back at the alter on Crescent Island.

“Unlike most of the other types of magic that are summoned from only one god, enchanting is a blessing from all of the gods,” Mareike explained as she hugged the wall, keeping outside of the circle.

Azure stood at the entrance, unsure if he was supposed to proceed forward.

“You only have land magic, right?” She looked over at him.

He nodded in response.

“Okay. Leaning this one works similarly. You will place the scroll in the center of the circle. Then you will kneel and place one hand atop the scroll and another on that triangle.” Mareike pointed to one of the five triangles on the floor. “After that, just breathe and let the magic flow into you.” She took a few deep breaths, mimicking what Azure was supposed to do.

“Okay...” He watched Mareike for a few seconds before letting his gaze fall to the floor.

Careful not to step on any of the drawings, Azure maneuvered until he was in the center of the circle. He knelt as he placed the scroll on the ground, quickly making the connection. Closing his eyes, he began to feel something stirring beneath his hand. Similar to how it had been when he had learned the land magic spells, something started flowing up into him, beginning at his fingertips. This time, it was a tiny zing of electricity, over and over again, as if ants were crawling up his arms. He wanted to open his eyes and look but knew better.

Another sensation followed. A wave of liquid, like his blood was undulating in his veins. It was a bit unsettling but not painful. Then there was the coolness of air. The tightness and stiffness of death. The briefest flash of black. Darker than dark. Cold gripped Azure's chest, filling him with momentary fear that passed almost the second it had come. And then he could breathe again. Life. Green. Something was filling him, renewing his energy. Faces flashed through his mind faster than he could place them, but he somehow knew that they belonged to the gods. The gods, then every living creature on the planet. Monsters. Plants. Animals. Insects. People. All of the races.

Words came to his mouth unbidden. “I am one, and I am all. What I am made of belongs to all of the elements. I will give myself to create, and my creations shall be a part of me.”

The sound of thunder boomed in Azure's ears. It was so loud and unexpected that he fell back, his hand leaving the scroll, the connection broken.

Congratulations! New skill learned: Enchanting Level 1. Every creature in The Realm is made up of the same gifts from the gods. With enchanting, you can create and change things using the elements within you.

Congratulations! You have learned the land spell: Summon Mount. Travel distances in a fraction of the time with your own personal steed.

He opened his eyes, his gaze volleying around the room wildly. When it landed on Mareike, she was smiling at him.

“Pretty intense, right?” she said in a way that reminded Azure of a stoner who had just watched their friend take a huge rip from a 4-foot bong.

Azure stood and dusted the chalk off of his backside, sending thin purple clouds into the air. Gazing down at the ruined circle, he felt kind of bad knowing that she would have to draw it over again.

Reading his mind, she waved his guilt away. “Ah, don’t worry about it. Happens all the time.”

A thought came to him. “What would have happened had I put my hand in the wrong triangle?” He hadn’t thought about it before, but it seemed kind of important.

“Oh.” Mareike shrugged. “You just would have exploded.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

THE REALM – Day 83

Exploded?! That seemed like an important detail.

Azure wanted to chastise the woman but felt he shouldn't bother. The likeliness of her processing his concern was slim to none anyway. She seemed like she was always off in her own world.

Instead, he remained silent as they returned to her desk, listening as the trees creaked into place to form a solid wall again, shutting the room back into secrecy.

Bibbity, Azure thought, shaking his head. Mareike was too busy going through her mess of paperwork to notice. After a moment, she pulled a sheet from the stack and slid it to him. “This should work.”

Magic School Quest: Bearer of Bad News

Yesterday we received news that the father of one of our students has been slain while performing a bounty quest for The Adventurers Guild. Unfortunately, Twahallul Frozentale has been tasked with a multi-day quest cataloging the animals around the Crypt of the Mystic King. Please deliver this news to her and return.

Difficulty: Very Easy

Success: Deliver a message to Twahallul Frozentale

Failure: Cancel quest

Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

Azure slumped in his seat. This did not sound fun at all. “Are you sure you don’t have anyone else who could deliver this bad news?”

“It’s a Very Easy quest. I don’t see what the problem is.” She stared at him blankly.

“It’s fine.” He waved his apprehension away, taking the quest paper and placing it in his Bag of Holding.

Azure thanked Mareike and left her office, then stopped outside to pull up his World Map and look at the familiar path to the Crypt of the Mystic King. It hadn’t been long ago that he’d visited the crypt to fulfill the requirements of one of his land magic quests. The walk had taken him a full day back then. If his calculations were correct, it would probably only take him an hour or two on horseback. Using the spell cost 20 Mana, so to sustain it for a full hour would cost 160 Mana. Luckily, he had enough Blue Mushrooms to keep himself stocked up on Mana. Even if he ran out, he could always stop and Forage for some more. They were a plentiful resource in this part of Patheana.

Azure moved several yards away from the school and shook his arms out before lifting his hands. Somehow, he just knew how to summon the horse. The spell took several seconds, weaving his hands in a slow articulate motion as he concentrated on fusing blood, bone, and muscle together in the proper shape. Tiny red specs, almost unperceivable to the human eye, floated from his fingers into his creation. He was pouring a piece of himself into it. Him mixed with the elements around him. Azure could see everything coming together to create the horse. The dirt beneath its hooves. The precipitation hanging in the air. It was a truly magical experience and one he hoped he would never take for granted.

While the creation process seemed to take forever in his own mind, it was only about a minute before a fully functional, live beast stood before him, its hooves pawing at the dirt as it snorted. Azure was so floored by what he had just done that he couldn't help but waste precious minutes staring in wonder. The animal was as alive and real as anything he'd ever seen. And it wasn't just a pet to him. No, he felt a connection on a deeper level. An unbreakable bond.

Though he'd never ridden a horse before, Azure knew that as soon as he climbed upon the creature's back, it would follow his every order. All he'd need to do was think about where he wanted the horse to go, and it would go there. Walk. Trot. Gallop. It was all programmed in through a psychokinetic link.

Azure ran his hand over the horse's soft muzzle. The painted mare took a step forward, moving her head so that her nose was inches away from Azure's face and breathing on him gently. She was mostly white with large brown spots all over her body. A beautiful animal.

Enough admiring. The spell will wear off if I keep wasting time.

With a thought, the mare bowed so that Azure could easily mount her. He was admittedly clueless about what he was doing. In the vast majority of movies he'd seen, no one rode bareback. And he wasn't about to take a running jump with other students watching. Gripping a fistful of her mane, he tried to swing his hips over to no avail.

This is something that should have come with the spell, he thought dryly, feeling like an idiot.

It was bad enough that he was making the horse bow so he could mount it. The few students sitting in the grass in front of the school looked at him with raised eyebrows, clearly either judging him or amused by his struggling.

After the second attempt and failure, Azure realized that this was going to take some practice. Submitting to looking completely inept, he decided to make the mare lie down instead, easily crawling onto her back that way.

Holding on while she struggled to stand under his weight, Azure feared that he might fall off. Finally, both rider and horse were upright. The mare swished her tail, catching a fly that had buzzed too close. Azure glanced back to look, and a second later, the ground rushed to meet him. It happened so quickly that he barely had time to process what was going on. With all of the time wasted from trying to mount the horse, his spell had worn off.

There was no warning, just a sudden nothingness. He hit the dirt hard, summoning muffled giggles from his peers. Not funny, he thought, noticing a small dip in his Health bar. His tailbone ached.

Pulling himself to his feet and dusting his pants off, Azure sighed. “Let’s try this again.”

He took a deep breath and cast Summon Mount one more time. The same horse appeared before him, and Azure briefly wondered if he would ever be able to summon a different one. Perhaps she was his soul familiar horse. He'd have to remember to ask Mareike about that later. Or maybe he wouldn't bother. Was it really that important?

There was no time to think about it. If there was one thing Azure had learned from the last summon, it was that every minute mattered. Wasting no more time, he commanded the mare to lie down so that he could crawl onto her back. Then he headed in the direction of the Crypt of the Mystic King.

Getting used to riding was a bit awkward, especially when he had to be so mindful of the time. Knowing that he should probably take things slow while he got the hang of it, Azure spent the first ten minutes at a walk. The bouncing sensation was unfamiliar to him, as was the strain of having his thighs spread over the horses back. For the most part though, riding the horse wasn't unpleasant. At a walk, Azure surmised that she was only slightly faster than he was on foot.

Recasting Summon Mount from the mare's back, he instantly felt her renew. No particles flew from his fingers to reform her. She was already solid. But he could sense some of his energy going inside of her. It was a subtle feeling, one he probably wouldn't even notice with time.

Trotting was a bit more uncomfortable, and Azure found himself holding on tighter as he rose a few centimeters from the horse's back with her quicker footfalls. It was difficult finding his center of balance. The faster she went, the less steady he felt. This was definitely a speedier way to travel, about double the pace she'd been going at a walk. Still, he knew that the mare could run, and he'd eventually have to swallow his fears and learn how to master the gallop.

On his next summon, Azure brought the mare up to a cantor. Now he was feeling really unsteady, clutching onto her mane for dear life. With every stride, Azure rose from her back, his body swaying as he struggled to keep atop her. A few times, he forced her to slow down for fear of falling off. It took him the full ten minutes to get the hang of it.

The last and final step was the gallop. When all four hooves left the floor, Azure quickly ended up on the ground. He hit the dirt with an oomph, his Health bar suffering an immediate 10 point loss. The mare instantly stopped and curved back to retrieve her rider, a soft huff passing through her lips as if she were laughing at him.

Azure groaned as he pulled himself to his feet, flexing his wrist. He has tried to catch himself when he fell. Big mistake. The joint radiated pain, but it didn't seem to be broken.

“Well, that was no fun,” he said with a sigh before crawling back onto the mare's back.

Having lost track of time from the fall, he decided to take the rest of the ten minutes at a walk, recasting Summon Mount a bit too early. But better safe than sorry. Azure was getting too acquainted with falling for his taste.

His second attempt at the gallop had him almost plummeting to the ground again. As soon as he felt that familiar panic, he backed off to a cantor. For the next ten minutes, he tried several different things from leaning forward while the horse galloped to holding on tighter with his thighs. Combining the two seemed to give him the best results. It took three more summons before he finally had it down.

While the speed was great, he couldn't re-summon without slowing to a walk. Azure wondered briefly if he should invest in a saddle, but he wasn't sure how long it would take to put it on the horse. That could waste precious minutes. It was probably better to just continue riding as is. Whenever he finished this quest, he would need to practice mounting the horse while it was standing. Forcing her to lie down just made him look like an idiot.

Having not accounted for the time it would take to get used to riding, Azure was already under 100 Mana points. He would have to refuel with Blue Mushrooms before returning to Squall's End. That wasn't particularly a concern right now, though. Looking at his map, he should be able to make it the rest of the way in good time without plowing through the rest of his Mana.

After the ninth time using Summon Mount, Azure decided to give his horse a name. The way she swished her tail whenever a fly approached her backside while they were at a walk made him think of a flyswatter. She also tended to flick her ears a bit, so he decided to call her Flicker. The mare whinnied in response to the name, and it was settled.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

THE REALM – Day 83

Leveling up enchanting seemed to be going a whole lot faster than leveling up land magic had. On his very next renewal of the summon, Azure was rewarded with a notification.

Congratulations! The skill: Enchanting has reached Level 2. This skill allows you to bring the elements into you to create something new or change the things around you. Continuing to level up this skill will unlock the ability to learn more spells of the same magic type.

By the time Azure reached his destination, his Mana was almost completely drained. The journey had taken nearly two hours thanks to all the time spent learning how to ride Flicker. Now that Azure knew what he was doing, the trip back shouldn't be as long. Regardless, even at two hours, it was tons of time saved compared to walking on foot. Azure felt that Summon Mount was the most useful magic he currently had in his arsenal, and he couldn't wait to get his hands on the other summons he had seen on the list of enchanting spells.

His target for this quest was a moving dot on his map about a quarter of a mile away from the Crypt of the Mystic King. As Azure approached his destination, the forest closed in around him, causing him to dismount and leave his horse behind. Thankfully, the distance to reach Twahallul was comparatively small. When the forest gave way to a small glade, he found...well, Azure wasn't sure what he had found.

For a moment, he mistook it for a dwarf, but the body was far too wide. The creature had been pulling tubers from the ground, and it spotted Azure at around the same time as he spotted it. Clad in armor, the manlike mound of muscle stood about as tall as a dwarf. It had a thick brow and a bald head which came to a slight point at the top. Two tusks protruded from its jaw and were slanted inward. Thinking it might be Twahallul, Azure activated Analyze.

Level 13 Cheoksum Thug.

“Hello,” Azure apprehensively said in greeting.

If the word ‘thug’ in the name wasn’t a dead giveaway that the creature was hostile, the fact that it immediately stopped what it was doing and drew the two-handed sword strapped to its back would have done it.

“I mean you no harm.” Azure held his palms up, but his words fell on deaf ears.

The thug took wide steps with ever-increasing swiftness, its sword brandished in front of it, ready to fight. Dodging the first swing, Azure reached for his Bergen’s Glaive. For being thick and somewhat slow, the thug was able to get in one more attack before Azure was finally able to free his sword and prepare to counter.

This was one of the more human-like creatures he’d seen in The Realm, and the thought of killing it left a bad taste in his mouth. Battling his conscience, Azure stayed on the defense, trying to talk the creature down from its aggressive stance. Apparently, there was a language barrier, because it didn’t seem to understand him at all.

“Just run!” an unfamiliar female voice called from behind him.

“What?” Azure turned to look at where the voice was coming from. A rookie mistake.

The next thing he felt was pain in his side as the thug took advantage of his distraction.

Level 13 Cheoksum Thug delivers 65 damage.

Azure hissed in pain and returned his attention to the fight, though he had found the source of the voice before doing so. A dwarven woman had been watching the melee from behind an outcrop of rocks several yards away. Her head just barely reached above one of the smaller boulders.

Glancing down, Azure saw the sloppy stab that his opponent had made. Blood dripped from a wound just below his ribcage.

“They’re very slow. He won’t be able to catch you if you run,” the woman said, sounding a bit closer.

After being stabbed, Azure kind of wanted to kill the thug. It was clear that Twahallul was more in line with his previous way of thinking, though.

With a sigh, Azure turned from the thug and began running, hoping his wound wouldn’t slow him down. He flanked Twahallul’s side, and they fled through the forest together, heading toward the crypt. While he felt like his speed might be hindered in his injured condition, Twahallul was even slower, her short legs forcing Azure to decrease his pace so that she could keep up. Thankfully, the thug was even slower. Azure probably could have beaten it at a power walk. Within about 50 yards, the thug stopped following them and turned around, quite possibly returning to the same place to finish what it had been doing before.

Azure slowed his pace and popped open one of his Poor Quality Potions of Minor Healing in the hopes that it would be enough to quickly close the wound. He was surprised that he hadn’t been inflicted with the bleeding status effect, because the injury was definitely deeper than superficial.

By the time they had stopped, Twahallul was panting by Azure’s side, her hands on her knees as she bent to catch her breath. She looked young for a dwarf, her long auburn hair plaited back away from her face. No armor adorned her body, nor any visible weapons to protect her. It didn’t seem very smart to be out here unarmed, especially with things like the Cheoksum thug roaming about.

“I don’t know how to break this to you easily, so I’m just going to come out and say it.” No, he definitely wasn’t good at stuff like this. She looked over at him but said nothing, still clearly winded. “I was sent by Hawking’s to deliver a message. Your father has been slain while performing a Bounty quest for The Adventurers Guild. I’m sorry.”

The next several minutes were spent holding a complete stranger while she fell apart in his arms. Azure’s heart went out to her. It was horrible news--news he still thought he shouldn’t have been tasked with delivering. Twahallul’s sobs were so wrecking that Azure worried they might agro the thug back in their direction, but she was blessedly afforded her moments of shock and grief in peace.

Once she was had detached from him and recomposed herself, the dwarf thanked Azure for delivering the news. He thought to ask her more about the Cheoksum thug, but now wasn’t the time. He could always research them at the library at Hawking’s if he really wanted to know more. Finding a language book for them, if one even existed, would definitely be on his list of things to do.

Azure gave his condolences to the grieving dwarf a final time before taking his leave. Making some calculations, he stuffed his maw with as many Blue Mushrooms as it would take to give him enough Mana to get back to Hawking's. By the time he finished choking down the number of fungi required, he was sick of them.

His estimation was correct. With his new mastery of basic bareback riding, Azure was able to make it to Hawking's in a little over an hour. Flicker seemed to have limitless energy as long as he renewed her within the necessary time. Traveling longer distances should be a breeze for him from now on.

After scheduling an appointment with Mareike for the next morning, Azure detoured to the library to look for books about the Cheoksum thug. There was still an hour to kill before the school closed for the night, and he was definitely interested in learning the race's language so that he wouldn't end up in a similar situation again. If he could avoid killing humanoid races, he would.

Cheryl was playing librarian again, the deer-human hybrid still fascinating to him. He gave her a warm smile as he entered the library. How could he not when her ears perked up as soon as she laid eyes on him? Azure hoped he wasn't being impolite, quickly averting his gaze as he strode to start inspecting the shelves.

To be honest, he wasn't really sure what he was looking for. Many of the books were in languages he didn't understand, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the school would not be giving away language books for free. The Elvish language book had cost him a small fortune. Considering the exorbitant prices of everything else at Hawking's, it would not surprise him if the book to learn the language of the Cheoksum thug was comparatively expensive.

After searching on his own for about ten minutes, Azure walked up to the counter. Cheryl turned to him with the grace of a doe interested in a sound, but she said nothing.

He leaned one arm on the counter. “Hey, Cheryl. I was wondering if you have any books on the Cheoksum. I’m looking for a language book, specifically.”

“Wait. Please,” she struggled with the words, the endings sounding like a bleat.

Azure waited as she left her desk, disappearing behind one of the shelves only to re-emerge moments later with a book in her hand. Looking a bit cheap and flimsy, it was small with a moss-green cover.

She placed it before him but did not take her hand off of it. “One gold.”

Hesitantly, Azure pulled the coin from his Bag of Holding. This might not be a smart purchase to make right now, especially with rent coming up, but he didn’t want her to think less of him by sending her back because he couldn’t afford the book.

They made the exchange, and Azure smiled at her in thanks before taking the book over to one of the tables to sit and read it.

You have received the following item:

Book: Speaking Cheoksum for Idiots

Quantity: 1

Durability: 1/1

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Language Skills

He flipped the cover open and began scrolling across the English. What he learned of the Cheoksum was that they were a race of underdeveloped Neanderthals. Some unholy ancient hybrid of man, dwarf, and pig. They were hostile to all other races, mainly due to their lack of understanding.

Apparently, purchasing the book had been a bit of a waste. Even if Azure knew their language and could speak it fluently, they were most likely to attack him on sight. They lacked the reasoning for negotiation or compromise, and peace wasn't high on their list of priorities.

Their language was crude and rudimentary, a mix of one-word grunts with a vocabulary that spanned less than one-hundred words. All animals were just 'orra.' All other races besides Cheoksum were simply called 'loraglo,' which meant the same thing as enemy, outsider, and a variety of other unpleasant terms. Genders had no identity, which Azure found odd but also kind of cool.

Processing this language book seemed more seamless than the ones before. He barely noticed when the English began to transform into something else, perhaps because there were so few words in the Cheoksum language. Whatever the case, he absorbed the book in much the same way that he'd absorb a pamphlet with little to remember. The language came easily unto him without any strain on his intellect whatsoever.

When he finally closed the cover, the book quickly began to disintegrate, and a notification appeared.

Congratulations! You can now understand and speak the language: Cheoksum. The item: Book: Speaking Cheoksum for Idiots has been destroyed.

Azure returned to the counter to take care of some other business he’d been meaning to attend to for a while.

“Bestiary?” he asked Cheryl, wondering if it was easier for her to understand him if he used fewer words.

She flicked one ear, looking confused.

Trying again, Azure said, “I’m looking for a bestiary. A book with a list of creatures within The Realm and what loot they drop.”

Understanding donned on her, and she led the way to the bestiary books. Apparently, there were multiple, but Azure was searching particularly for the one that Janine owned. He was delighted to find it wedged between a few thinner books that only covered specific regions of The Realm.

Book: Mytheanal Seawatcher's Bestiary: A Comprehensive Catalog of all Creatures Within The Realm

Item Class: Epic

Quality: Extremely Rare

Weight: 1.0 kg

Uses: Contains a list of all known creatures within The Realm and what parts of them are of value.

Pulling the book from the shelf, he held it up to Cheryl. “I’d like to buy this.”

She shook her head in an exaggerated gesture, like an animal trying to ward off an annoying fly. “Not for sale.”

Azure frowned, then though for a moment. “Is there a copy of this for sale in the school store?”

Cheryl shook her head again. “Extremely Rare.”

He could see that, as well as that the book was of Epic class. It must have cost Janine a small fortune to acquire.

With an inward sigh, he asked his next question, hoping the answer wouldn’t involve any additional unscrupulous monetary compensation for borrowing the book. “Can I rent it? Take it out of the library?”

She shook her head a third time. “You read here.” Cheryl pointed to the floor. “Book. Library.”

Azure could only assume she meant that the book belonged to the library.

Disappointed, he scanned through it for several minutes, though he doubted he’d retain much of what he read. Apparently fearful that he might try to steal the book, Cheryl remained by his side, watching him like a hawk. It made it difficult for Azure to concentrate, and eventually, he conceded defeat and placed the book back on the shelf.

Oh well. He’d have to find another way to obtain a copy. Perhaps he’d tell Ruthren to keep an eye out next time he came around. For as much as they’d seen him on Crescent Island, he had yet to make an appearance in Squall’s End since they’d first arrived. It was kind of strange, and Azure hoped that nothing bad had happened to the traveling merchant.

With no other business to attend to, he thanked Cheryl and ate a few Blue Mushrooms before leaving Hawking’s.

Damn, did Azure ever love the ability to summon his own horse. It took him less than half an hour to reach his destination. There were still a few slivers of daylight left. Had he been on foot, he’d still be walking to the Crypt of the Mystic King. This new spell was a game changer for him.

Immensely happy with how the day had gone, minus the fact that he hadn't been able to obtain a copy of the bestiary, Azure whistled a tune as he headed toward the tavern. It felt a bit odd to have nothing to trade in at the market. The only real disadvantage to traveling by mount was that he couldn’t forage along the way. Still, there was nothing he knew how to make with the alchemy components around here, and they didn’t earn him a whole lot of coin, so it didn’t feel like that great of a loss compared to the time he saved.

Azure traded 2 coppers in at the tavern for a pint of beer and sat down with a meal of stew and a heel of bread. Taking his time, he sat back after emptying his bowl and Analyzed people as they came and went. His friends were nowhere to be seen, but it was a bit early for them to be coming in from their quests.

Once he began to grow bored, Azure retired to his room, only partially regretting not checking out the market stalls for alchemy components. With only 7 gold left, he felt dangerously low on coin. It wouldn't be long before he'd have to quest again.

As luck would have it, Lonnell and Uden returned to the room that night. Azure didn't feel anywhere near as grumpy about it now that he had his bedroll to sleep on. He unrolled it on the floor as Uden regaled him with the story of some boring-sounding Monster quest they had gone on. Everything on the mainland was still fresh and new to the half-imp, and he was taking it all in with wonder. When Azure told Uden that he'd learned the Summon Mount spell, he was all ears and interest. Then the conversation turned toward the fact that the half-imp wasn't making much coin from the piddly quests he'd been picking up.

“That’s why we need to do another bounty,” Lonnell said, though his voice held no hope that Azure would be ready. He was sitting against one of the walls, mashing up alchemy components in his mortar.

“Actually...” Azure hesitated, “I’m starting to run a bit low on coin as well. This bedroll cost a fortune.” He gestured to it.

“How much?” Uden raised an eyebrow.

“20 gold.”

The half-imp visibly cringed.

“Yeah. Needless to say, I’m broke again.” Azure stretched out on the bedroll. While he could still feel the stiffness of the wooden floor beneath his back, the bedroll did provide a slight bit of comfort. It was nowhere near the luxury of sleeping on a bed, though. Briefly, he wondered why sleeping on a bed didn’t provide the same benefit since it was more comfortable. Perhaps the bedrolls were infused with magic? There were still a few things about this world that he didn’t understand.

“We have to turn his quest in tomorrow.” Lonnell nodded toward Uden. “We could pick up a Bounty quest then.”

Azure rolled onto his side to face his friends. “It should definitely be Uden who picks it up. Since he’s a lower level than us, it will probably be easier than our usual bounties.”

“Are you calling me weak?” The half-imp narrowed his eyes at Azure.

“Yes.” He didn’t bother sugarcoating the response. It was true. In comparison to both Azure and Lonnell, Uden was incredibly weak.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to protect me,” the half-imp’s voice raised a few octaves as he pretended to be a damsel.

Azure rolled his eyes.

“Do you think Janine would want to join us?” Lonnell asked, which surprised Azure.

“Probably not.” Thanks to him. He cast a side-eye at Uden.

“We won’t need her anyway.” Uden waved the suggestion away.

“Maybe not.” Lonnell cocked his head to the side. “But it would be good to have her along, just in case.”

“Just in case of what?” The half-imp knitted his brow.

“You haven’t done a Bounty quest yet. They’re not easy.” Azure sucked in a breath, remembering everything he and Lonnell had been through so far.

“Even if they give you an easy one, we could probably use the help,” Lonnell told his brother.

“If you say so.” Uden sounded disinterested in the idea.

“I’m assuming you know which room she’s in.” Lonnell looked at Uden. “You should go ask her if she wants to come along.”

“I think that’s a job better left to Azure,” he quickly diverted.

“Maybe so,” Azure agreed. “It’s a bit late, though.” He tilted his face toward the window. Moonlight streamed through. Their shadows were painted on the walls by the lantern light.

“Better the chance that she’ll be in her room...unless she stayed out on a quest overnight,” Lonnell said.

“Perhaps.” Azure sighed as he sat up. “So which room is she in?”

“First floor. First door to the right,” Uden informed him with the slightest smirk. “Did you know that she doesn’t pay rent?”

“What?” Both Azure’s and Lonnell’s gaze shot toward Uden.

“Nope,” he mused, staring up at the ceiling. “She does quests for the innkeeper, and he lets her stay for free.”

“Do we have that option?” Azure and Lonnell exchanged a glance.

“I’m afraid not.” Uden rolled over onto his side, sounding apologetic for whatever reason. “Anyway, you should go before it gets too late. Dwarves are notoriously grumpy if you wake them.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Azure rolled his eyes as he pulled himself to his feet, expecting this to be a complete waste of time.

He left the room and headed downstairs, a bit jealous that the dwarf didn’t have to struggle to afford rent like they did. Perhaps that’s why all she had to do was Monster quests day in and out.

Azure hesitated before knocking on the door, Uden’s words playing through his mind about how she might be grumpy if he woke her. But it wasn’t just that that made him pause. It was also how Janine had treated him the last time they had spoken. There was definitely a rift in their friendship after her liaison with Uden.

Knowing that stalling wasn’t getting this over any sooner, Azure forced his fist to connect with the wooden door, rapping on it firmly enough that it should wake even the most deeply slumbering dwarf. No footsteps approached from inside. He tried again, knocking so hard that his knuckles hurt. When he still heard nothing, he assumed that she must be out for the night.

Azure turned to walk away. Once he had one foot on the stairs leading up, the door opened. Janine peeked her head outside, looking groggy.

“Azure?” She clutched a sheet to her chest.

He flushed for second, his brain tricking him into thinking Janine was naked. Then he realized she was wearing a skin-tone shirt.

“Did I wake you?”

“Yeah. What do you want? And how did you...” she paused. “Uden. Yeah. Never mind.”

Azure didn’t bother beating around the bush. “We’re going to grab a Bounty quest tomorrow and were wondering if you wanted to come.”

“What kind of quest?” Janine rubbed one of her eyes, clearly still half-asleep.

“I don’t know yet. We’re going to have Uden pick it up since he’s the lowest level among us. It shouldn’t be too difficult if they match it with his level.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “So it’s not just going to be you and Lonnell?”

“No.” He shook his head slightly. “But you should still come along. It will be easy experience. Might as well cash in on it. I’m only doing it because it will be easy money too, but I know you don’t need that.” A trace of jealousy ran through him.

“I don’t know.” Janine averted her gaze. “Let me think about it.”

“It might be fun to break things up,” Azure pitched the idea to her one last time before she could disappear back inside. “I know it gets boring doing the same type of quest over and over again.”

“Yeah,” she agreed absentmindedly. “As I said, I’ll think about it.” Janine paused for a moment, as if mulling the idea over. “I’ll meet you in the tavern tomorrow night with my decision. I’ve had a long day, so I’m going back to bed. Good night.” She didn’t even look at him as she closed the door.

Azure returned to his room, not feeling very hopeful. By the time he arrived, Uden was already passed out on the bed. Lonnell had finished crafting whatever potions he had been working on and was cleaning his mortar and pestle off with a piece of cloth.

“So, what did she say?” Lonnell asked. “You were gone long enough. I assume you found her.”

“I did.” Azure took a seat on his bedroll. “I don’t think it’s going to happen.” He cast a glance toward the sleeping half-imp.

“He messed up, didn’t he?” Lonnell’s head nodded in his brother’s direction.

“He wouldn’t be Uden if he didn’t mess things up.” Azure smirked.

“So then it’s a no?” His shoulders slumped slightly.

“I don’t know yet,” he confessed. “She said he’d tell me at the tavern tomorrow night. She said she wanted to sleep on it.”

Lonnell sighed, placing his equipment into his Bag of Holding and then bedding down on the floor. “I suppose there’s nothing else we can do but wait.”

“I suppose not,” Azure hesitated, wondering if it wouldn’t have been better to send Uden in his stead. At least, they could have talked out whatever awkwardness remained between them. Trying not to think about it, Azure changed the subject. “Since we won’t get our answer until tomorrow night, I’m going to head back to Hawking’s in the morning to turn in my quest and grab another one. Magic School quests have no time limit, so I don’t need to be in any hurry to complete it. Besides, it would be good for me to have one more spell under my belt before we enter whatever fresh hell this quest will entail. And I already made an appointment with the school, so I can’t really bail.”

Lonnell smirked. “You have such an interesting way with words.”

“I meant that I can’t not show up,” he corrected himself.

“Ah.” Lonnell’s head bobbed. “I see. Then we all meet up at the tavern tomorrow night.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

THE REALM – Day 84

Azure woke fully restored and feeling like a million dollars. For once, Uden and Lonnell were sleeping in. Well, Uden was sleeping in. Lonnell awoke while Azure was putting away his bedroll. Azure told his friend to go back to sleep as he slipped out the door, but he knew that Lonnell wouldn’t. More than likely, he’d rouse his brother soon, and they’d head to The Adventurers Guild. It was none of Azure’s concern what they did with their day. He had other business to attend to.

He ate his breakfast at a leisurely pace and then made it to magic school with time to spare. Mareike greeted him with the same mental haziness of a stoner, gesturing for him to take a seat across from her. He handed over his quest paper, not bothering to say anything.

“How did she take the news?” There was no sympathy in the professor’s voice. She seemed too preoccupied with trying to find her stamp.

“How would you have taken it?”

She simply nodded, locating the stamp under a pile of papers and using it to messily stamp the word 'Complete' on top of Azure's quest paper.

Congratulations! Magic School Quest: Bearer of Bad News has been completed.

You have delivered the painful news of her father's demise to Twahallul Frozentale. She is heartbroken, but time heals most wounds. For your efforts, you are rewarded 195XP.

“There you go,” Mareike chirped with a smile. Then she just sat there staring at the stamped word for several seconds.

“So...can I learn my next spell?” Azure broke her from her thoughts.

“Next spell?” Mareike’s eyes shot up to meet his, full of confusion for a moment before they cleared. “Oh, yes. More spells.” She shuffled through the papers on her desk, pulling one out, looking at it with a cocked head, then sticking it back in to find another. Azure wanted to roll his eyes at her disorganization but refrained. Finally, after what was entirely too long, Mareike slid a few unrolled scrolls in front of him.

The first two were Transmute and Volatile Bolt, which he had seen before. However, the third was something new.

Spell Scroll: Summon Familiar

Quantity: 1/1

Weight: 0.0 kg

Mana Cost: 20

Range: 6 feet

Cooldown: Ten Minutes

Magic Class: Enchanting

Uses: Summon your own personal animal familiar. Familiar will remain summoned for 10 minutes. Familiar grants a +5 damage boost to your magic attacks. You cannot have more than one summon at a time.

Azure screwed his face, thinking about the spell. Considering that he currently didn’t have any spells that did actual damage, it seemed pretty useless to him.

“Will this add magic damage to my spells?” He tapped the paper.

Mareike twisted her neck to look at the scroll for a moment. “Yes. It will add +5 damage to any of your magic attacks,” she read.

“No.” Azure pressed his eyes shut. “I mean will it add damage to spells that don’t typically deal damage, such as my Dirty Move spell.”

“Oh.” She straightened in her desk. “No.”

“Then there’s no point in me having it right now,” he vocalized his thoughts, pulling the Volatile Bolt scroll closer. This one would be far more beneficial to him right now. “I’ll learn this one next then.”

“Okay.” Mareike nodded before turning to the wall behind her and saying, “Bibbity.”

Again the words bobbity boo followed in Azure’s mind. He stood as the wood began to creak and give way to the secret room. They walked inside, and Azure went through the motions of absorbing the spell, feeling the various elements enter him as he gained the knowledge needed to perform the spell.

Congratulations! You have learned the enchanting spell: Volatile Bolt. Though unpredictable, you can count on this spell to deal some serious damage to your enemies.

Well, that sounds a bit ominous. Whatever the case, Azure now finally had a damage-dealing spell in his arsenal.

When it was all done, they returned to Mareike's desk for her to assign him a quest.

Magic School Quest: Thin Out the Gnolls

An alarming number of gnoll guards have been spotted roaming around the small village of Mightrest. It is suspected that they may raid the village soon. Please take care of the menace to protect the village.

Difficulty: Easy

Success: Kill 10 Gnoll Guards

Failure: Cancel quest

Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

“This looks like something that should have been submitted to The Adventurers Guild,” Azure pointed out.

“Mightrest is a poverty-stricken village. They couldn’t afford to submit it to The Adventurers Guild,” Mareike explained with a twinge of sympathy. “We get a lot of quests from the smaller villages. And stuff that The Adventurers Guild doesn’t think is worth paying someone to deal with.”

That might explain the last quest, Azure thought. “All right. I’ll take it.” He slid the quest paper off of her desk and stood to take his leave. “I have one more question, though.”

“Hm?” She looked up at him.

Azure lowered his voice slightly. “What race is Cheryl? I’ve never seen anyone like her before.”

“Cheryl is a forestborne. You likely won’t see any in the cities or towns because, as their name implies, they prefer to live in the forest. The only reason why Cheryl is here at this school is because she was a rescue. A wealthy lord had her captured as a fawn to be his daughter’s pet. She was later rescued and brought here because she was too domesticated to return to the wild.”

“Oh. Wow.” Azure couldn’t hide his surprise. That was far more of a detailed response than he had expected from the vague, spacy woman. “Interesting.”

He thanked her and took his leave, opening his World Map as he walked toward the entrance to Hawking’s. From what Azure could tell, Mightrest was almost directly to the southeast a good thirty miles away. Not wanting to waste any time, he summoned Flicker and set out.

The journey took a little over an hour, and the last summon was enough to level up his enchanting skill again.

Congratulations! The skill: Enchanting has reached Level 3. This skill allows you to bring the elements into you to create something new or change the things around you. Continuing to level up this skill will unlock the ability to learn more spells of the same magic type.

Azure was pleased by how effortlessly the skill seemed to be leveling up. It gave him hope that he'd make it past novice level faster than he'd anticipated. Enchanting definitely seemed to be one of the better types of magic to know.

One thing Azure noticed as he drew closer to his destination was that the area was represented on his map by a wide circle. He dismounted Flicker and left her to graze as he approached the edge of the circle. Not wanting to be taken unaware again, and knowing that enemies were close, even if he couldn't see them, Azure activated Stealth as he walked through the forest, listening carefully for any signs of enemy activity.

While he had expected the gnolls to be moving through the forest, perhaps circling the village, Azure was surprised to find the first one standing against a tree. Looking like a sentinel, the half-hyena half-man was sporting a chainmail tunic and holding a club. Azure hid behind a tree several yards away and activated Analyze.

Level 11 Gnoll Guard.

Discovering that it was weaker than him, he took a few moments to formulate a plan. The whole point of the quest was for Azure to use his new Volatile Bolt spell, but his Mana was already less than half of what it had been this morning. He'd need every last bit to get back to Squall's End unless he planned to eat more Blue Mushrooms. The thought wasn't appealing, but he did want to test out his new spell at least once.

Maybe not on this one...

Azure knew that there were other gnolls nearby. Causing a commotion with a spell he couldn't predict the results of might draw more gnolls upon him. If they were all level 11 or higher, he could be in trouble.

Activating Stealth again, Azure disappeared into the forest, sneaking around behind the gnoll. Carefully, he drew his Black Dagger. Taking slow, silent steps, he moved until he was just behind the tree. His heartbeat accelerated as he grew closer, but he remained calm and collected. As soon as Azure was in place, he struck, coming in quickly from the side to slit the gnoll's throat without causing a scene. The creature's black eyes widened in shock. It gurgled on its own blood, dropping the club to clutch at its neck. A hiss escaped its lips, and Azure thought to bring his hand over the gnoll's mouth to silence it until he saw the row of razor-sharp teeth. The creature did not descend soundlessly, but it also wasn't terribly loud in its throes of death. Delivering a few more quick stabs to its neck was enough to silence the gnoll forever.

Defeated Level 11 Gnoll Guard. 77XP rewarded.

I wonder what it was guarding, Azure thought as he cleaned the blood from his dagger before re-sheathing it.

Blessedly, there seemed to be no mystery as to what he could take. Azure knelt beside the body and stripped it as quickly as possible, keeping a wary eye on the forest around him.

You have received the following items:

Gnollish Club

Attack: +4-28

Magic Damage: +1

Vitality: +6

Intelligence: +6

Strength: +1

Agility: +4

Dexterity: +2

Charisma: +4

Luck: +3

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 23/25

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 2.0 kg

Traits: +1% resistance to Magic, +1 resistance to Disease, +1% resistance to Poison, +1% resistance to Bleeding

Requirements: Level 10

Roamer's Chainmail Tunic

Defense: +12

Vitality: +6

Intelligence: +4

Strength: +8

Agility: +6

Dexterity: +6

Charisma: +5

Luck: +2

Type: Heavy Armor

Durability: 19/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 11.0 kg

Traits: +1% resistance to Magic, +1 resistance to Disease, +1% resistance to Poison, +1% resistance to Bleeding

Requirements: Level 10

“Oh holy shit,” Azure whispered under his breath.

With little care about the noise is caused, he took off his Bronze Cuirass and equipped the Roamer's Chainmail Tunic instead. Despite the heaviness of the armor, there was an ease of movement to it that he hadn’t had with the cuirass. It was a marked improvement.

Next, he turned his attention to the Gnollish Club. While it didn’t look anywhere near as cool as his Bergen’s Glaive, the weapon’s stat boosts made it worth switching. Grudgingly, Azure placed his Bergen’s Glaive in his Bag of Holding to give the club a try instead. If he didn’t like it, he could always switch back.

Before standing, Azure said a silent prayer that he hadn’t rushed in to attack the gnoll. With the stat boosts that its armor and weapon had provided, it would have had the advantage. Now, he should be on equal or better footing than any enemy he might encounter in the area.

Since switching out his armor and weapon hadn’t drawn any enemies to him, Azure figured they must be decently spaced out. He Stealthed himself and continued to explore the area, encountering the next gnoll about fifteen yards away.

This one was on the move, though it didn’t appear to be going anywhere fast. In its hand was a small stick. The weapon looked piddly, and Azure couldn’t tell if it was for bludgeoning or if it was some type of wand. It certainly seemed too small to do any physical damage, even with force applied behind it. Stealthed, Azure hid behind a tree to Analyze the gnoll.

Level 6 Gnoll Guard.

An easy kill. He decided to try out his new club, rolling around the corner for a frontal assault. The gnoll's ears perked up, and it took a step back as it cackled so loud that the sound echoed throughout the forest. A warning call to the others that danger was near. Several birds flew from the trees, seeking shelter from the noise.

The hunk of wood in Azure's hand felt strange. It was thin stick against thicker stick as the two enemies squared off. Pointing its weapon at Azure, the gnoll guard began to chatter. A shower of sparks erupted from the end of its stick, spraying straight out at Azure and hitting him in the chest.

Citical hit! Level 6 Gnoll Guard delivers 40 damage and drains 10 points from your Stamina.

Well, that was interesting. The pain of the spell was but a sting, as if a crackle of electricity had hit Azure's skin and sucked out a bit of his energy.

He wouldn't allow the gnoll to use the wand again.

Raising his club, Azure tried to smash it down on the gnoll's head, but the creature ducked to the side, barely missing being hit. Then it turned to run. Even with the Agility boost from his new armor and weapon, Azure couldn't hope to catch up. It felt like the Cheoksum thug chasing him, but in reverse. He was just too slow.

After a few yards, Azure stopped, watching the gnoll as it weaved through the forest, cackling loudly, disappearing behind a cluster of trees only to reappear seconds later a bit further away, then disappear again. Azure drew his bow, but it was no use. The gnoll was too fast for him to get a good aim. It didn't stop running until backup had arrived.

Two more gnolls emerged from the forest, though they didn't approach. The three gnolls stood together a good twenty yards away, the two new recruits holding clubs made of a lighter colored wood than the one in Azure's hand. He expected them to charge him now that they had grouped up, but they simply stood there, staring at him, waiting.

Activating Analyze brought up information on the two new foes.

Level 6 Gnoll Guard.

Level 5 Gnoll Guard.

Nothing challenging. Why weren't they approaching, though? They obviously saw him.

At this distance, Azure had a clear shot, but he'd need to be quick. There was no time to zoom as he raised his bow. Sensing the danger, the gnolls darted to the side, but not before Azure was able to strike the one in the middle holding a club. The gnoll had already been on the move, so Azure's arrow sunk in its shoulder, missing the mark it had aimed for. Still, it was enough to make the creature give pause, and that was enough for him to down it with a second arrow.

Defeated Level 6 Gnoll Guard. 42XP rewarded.

The other two gnolls didn't regroup. Azure stood for a short eternity with his bow drawn, listening to the soft cackles nearby and the sounds of the forest. He didn't dare drop his guard, holding his draw until his arms began to ache. The danger was near, but it wasn't approaching. In truth, he wasn't really sure what was going on.

Slowly, he lowered his bow and crept toward his kill. Eyes ever on the forest, Azure lowered himself only enough to grab the club out of the gnoll's hand.

You have received the following item:

Club

Attack: +4-28

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 27/27

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 5.0 kg

Azure placed the club in his Bag of Holding and activated Stealth to slip into the shadows. Even though most of the enemies seemed weak, he still felt in danger from the sheer number of them. It didn't help that they had magic.

Now that the gnolls were aware of his presence, the forest was alight with the sounds of soft cackling. If not for recognizing the vocalizations, Azure might have been fooled into thinking that the forest was full of noisy birds.

Two down, eight to go.

Looking at the ground, he noticed a set of footprints. It was time to use yet another skill he hadn't touched in a while. Tracking.

Azure followed the set of prints to a gnoll hiding behind a large boulder seemingly set out of place in the middle of the dense forest. It was the one with the wand, crouched down, peering over the rock in the wrong direction. Using the same technique he had with the first gnoll, Azure sneaked in behind the creature with his Black Dagger and slit its throat before it had time to turn and see him.

Critical Hit! Defeated Level 6 Gnoll Guard. 42XP rewarded.

He couldn't wait to get his hands on the wand and discover its power. It was the first he had ever seen in The Realm. But as soon as the gnoll's life had expired, the wand crumbled to dust in its hand.

Azure scowled, wondering what he was supposed to do now. This particular gnoll wasn't wearing any armor, nor did it have additional weapons.

He sighed as he looked down at his Loot Automizer Pendant, knowing that he'd have to use it if he wanted any kind of reward for the kill. Standing a slight bit shorter than Azure, the body was too big for him to stuff into his Bag of Holding. Well, he could probably try, but it hardly seemed worth the effort.

Grabbing the pendant, he pointed it at the gnoll. Its body began to glitter a soft shade of brown, and particles of its fur and skin and flesh began to disappear, leaving behind an oblong brown orb. Azure picked it up, and it morphed in his hand, taking on the shape of a long, snake-like object.

You have received the following item:

Gnoll Spine

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.2 kg

Uses: Crafting.

Interesting.

He thought to backtrack and dissect the other corpses for their spines, but that would be time-consuming and probably wasn't the smartest idea when he was still surrounded by enemies. Hopefully, he'd be able to find his way back to all of his kills once the quest was complete.

Stealthing himself yet again, Azure followed the sound of soft cackling until he reached the third gnoll that had split off. It seemed to be on the lookout for its buddies, its head moving from side to side as it wandered about scanning the forest. Azure took it down with an arrow to the neck.

Critical Hit! Defeated Level 5 Gnoll Guard. 35XP rewarded.

With the original group of gnolls dispatched, Azure felt a lot more secure traversing the forest.

You have received the following item:

Club

Attack: +4-28

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 12/27

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 5.0 kg

Again, he considered taking the spine, but the red circle was still prominent on his map. Other enemies lurked nearby, and they needed to be dealt with first.

He felt he had a pretty good system down. Stealth, track, hunt. The gnolls may be fast, but they weren't careful to cover their footprints. After meandering through the forest for a bit, he'd run into a set of prints, then follow them to the next target.

The very next gnoll that Azure ran into was level 12. This one carried a short spear. Standing sentinel in front of a tree, Azure used his sneak and slit method. Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly as before. The gnoll detected him when he was slipping around the tree. It moved back, causing Azure to miss the killing cut, though he still nicked the gnoll on the throat. Turning to face its attacker, the gnoll brandished its spear, thrusting it forward. Azure dodged, twisting his body in a standing roll and jamming the blade of his Black Dagger hilt-deep into the side of the gnoll's neck with a quick backhanded stroke. It dropped its weapon to clutch at the wound, taking a few steps back before falling to its knees.

Defeated Level 12 Gnoll Guard. 84XP rewarded.

The weapon that the gnoll had been carrying was nothing impressive.

You have received the following item:

Rusty Short Spear

Attack: +1-5

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 12/32

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 5.0 kg

Hopefully, the short spear held the same value as its longer counterpart. Whatever the case, coin was coin.

Rinse and repeat for the next four gnolls. Azure was able to gain 224XP and the following items.

Rusty Mace

Attack: +2-6

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 1/13

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.6 kg

Rusty Mace

Attack: +2-6

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 13/13

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.6 kg

Rusty Longsword

Attack: +2-6

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Durability: 12/28

Item Class: Common

Quality: Poor

Weight: 7.5 kg

One of the gnolls was wielding another disappearing wand. Azure decided to use his Loot Randomizer Pendant on it just to see if he'd get anything different this time. The same glittering shroud washed over the gnoll's body, though it disintegrated into a much smaller orb. Picking it up, the brown of the sphere washed away, revealing several small bones.

You have received the following item:

Gnoll Phalanges

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting.

Azure rolled the bones in his hand. These particular phalanges appeared to be fingers. Then again, he hadn't taken much time to examine the gnolls' anatomy, so they could be foot bones instead. Now he wondered if the rest of the gnolls' skeletons were salvageable as well.

He could ponder it once the job was done. There was still one more gnoll to kill.

Finding the last of the bunch was a bit more challenging. Azure wandered around for nearly an hour before locating it, almost convinced that the gnoll didn't exist if not for the fact that the big red circle was still displayed on his map. Shouldn't it have narrowed down to pinpoint his final target?

This particular gnoll was roving about, apparently oblivious to the fact that all of its kin had been slain. Azure activated Analyze to get a measure of its strength.

Level 7 Gnoll Guard.

Easy.

Now that the forest was cleared of all the threats except for this one, it was time to try out his new spell. Doing his best to remain hidden behind a tree, Azure pointed his finger at the gnoll like a gun, closing one eye to aim. The feeling that surged through him was completely unexpected. It was like a rush, the liquid inside of him surging from every part of his body and cultimating at his fingertip. A spray of water jetted forward so strong that Azure had to grip his casting hand with the other just to stay steady.

The spell slammed the gnoll's body into a tree behind it, the trunk cracking from the impact. A pained expression took over the creature's face as it opened its maw and gasped for air, sliding down the tree and into an enormous puddle of water once the spray had stopped.

Azure's mouth fell agape as he took in the change of terrain. It looked like the area had been flooded. Water stood a good several inches high all around the gnoll.

The creature used the mace it had been holding to help pull itself to its feet. Azure wasn't about to give it time to get reoriented, though. He drew his bow and took a few strides forward, stopping at the edge of the water before loosing. The arrow caught the gnoll in the chest, and it slumped back down against the tree.

Defeated Level 7 Gnoll Guard. 49XP rewarded.

Azure shouldered his bow and took a few moments to stare down at his hand, wondering what other surprises the Volatile Bolt spell would produce. Not having any clue what was coming until he cast it could be problematic. He quickly decided that it would be a spell he would use sparingly.

Trudging through the water to get to the gnoll's corpse showed its effect. The water slurped at his feet, slowing him. Azure felt like he could have gotten the same results by using his Grease spell, except Grease didn't cause any damage. It had been apparent by the way the gnoll had reacted to being hit with the water blast that it had taken damage from the spell.

Once he reached the body, Azure performed the easy part of looting the gnoll by taking its mace.

You have received the following item:

Rusty Mace

Attack: +2-6

Type: One-Handed Weapon

Durability: 4/13

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.6 kg

With that done, he knelt by the creature's side with his Black Dagger drawn. Cutting off the gnoll's fingers wasn't enough. Azure had to dissect them for the bones before another notification popped up.

You have received the following item:

Gnoll Phalanges

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting.

It was bloody, tedious work.

Next, he turned the gnoll over and began cutting out its spine. This was even worse.

You have received the following item:

Gnoll Spine

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.2 kg

Uses: Crafting.

Dismantling the creature felt barbaric. Not only that, but it was taking way more time than he would have liked. At this rate, if Azure went back and looted all of the corpses for their body parts, he wouldn't return to Squall's End before nightfall, not that it particularly mattered.

Backtracking proved to be challenging. With the gnolls so spaced out, it was a time-suck locating their bodies. His memory wasn't that great, and apparently, neither was his tracking, because he seemed to be following his footsteps in circles. After locating five of the six remaining gnoll corpses, Azure gave up when he noticed the sun setting. He hadn't traveled by horseback at night yet, and he wasn't sure how the bats and shadowlings would react to Flicker, but he didn't want to test it today. Besides, he was tired and frustrated. While he needed the money, Azure felt like he could afford to leave one set of gnoll parts behind.

After exiting the forest, Azure cast Summon Mount and headed back to Squall's End. He could turn in his magic school quest some other time. Even though Mareike had made the quest sound urgent, it didn't have a time limit.

The lanterns were being lit by the time Azure rolled into town. Feeling exhausted after a long day of hunting gnolls, beer was calling his name. He went straight to the tavern, surprised to find no one waiting there for him. Not bothering to concern himself with it, he ordered a pint of beer and some supper, drinking the amber liquid down while he Analyzed people who came and went and waited for his friends.

It was a slow night with few patrons, which made the atmosphere a bit more relaxing. Once he finished his first beer, he was tempted to have a second but knew better. Switching to water, Azure decided that as soon as he finished it, he’d go looking for Uden and Lonnell. Unless they’d taken another quest at The Adventurers Guild to pass the day, they should be up in their room.

Almost as soon as he thought it, the brothers made an appearance. They looked rested and chipper, heading straight to his table to take a seat.

“Someone needs a bath.” Uden pinched his nose as he sat next to Azure. “What are you, some kind of animal?” He tapped a blood stain on the front of Azure’s chainmail.

“Don’t touch me.” Azure gave him a warning side-eye, then turned his attention to Lonnell. “Did you guys pick up a quest?”

“That we did.” Uden pulled the quest paper from his bag and smoothed it out on the table in front of Azure.

Adventurers Guild Quest: Captured by Kobolds

One of Lord Blakemore's servants has been captured by kobolds. He's offering a reward for her safe return. It is suspected that the kobolds have taken her deep into one of their dens. Rescuing her won't be easy.

Designation: E

Type: Bounty

Difficulty: Hard

Deadline: 7 days

Success: Rescue Jasmeen Merton

Failure: Cancel quest or die

Reward: 21 gold, 6 silver, 6 copper, 1 Quest Point

Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

“Good God!” Azure’s eyes bulged at the reward. “You’d think she was royalty with this price. Why haven’t we gotten a quest like this?” He slapped the paper with the back of his hand, his eyes shooting up to meet Lonnell’s.

“I suspect it has something to do with the amount of Luck he has.” He smirked at his brother.

“Well, I just got a bunch of new equipment that bolstered my luck, so hopefully I’ll get paid more from now on, too.” Azure just couldn’t get over the sum. It was absolutely ridiculous.

“I bet you’re glad I’m back now.” Uden patted Azure on the shoulder.

Azure quickly brushed his hand away. “I said, don’t touch me.”

“Fine,” the half-imp huffed. “You’re disgusting right now anyway.”

“You do smell like blood and bowels,” Lonnell agreed, wrinkling his nose. “You should take a bath before coming up to the room.”

“Noted.” He frowned at them before casting his gaze down at the quest paper again. “This Lord Blakemore seems to have lots of problems, little help, and more money than he knows what to do with.”

“Money?” Lonnell asked.

“Coin,” Azure quickly corrected himself.

“Sounds like you know this guy,” Uden pointed out.

“Yeah. We did our last bounty with him. He sent this knight with us who ended up dying. The guy was a real asshole. You would have loved him.” He forced a dry smile. “You’d think he would have paid more for the staff.”

“You would think.” Lonnell nodded. “But we were only there to assist. Perhaps that’s why the pay was so low.”

“Whatever the case, I’m not going to argue about making bank. This will be a good reward, even split between the four of us.”

“That’s if Janine even agrees to come.” He seemed doubtful.

“Speaking of Luuq.” Uden nodded toward the door. Janine had just entered the tavern, looking as exhausted as Azure felt. After a few steps, she spotted them and began heading over, taking a seat next to Lonnell.

“Hey guys,” she said in greeting.

“Hey there,” Azure replied.

Tension filled the air for a few seconds. Azure knew he’d have to get the conversation rolling quickly, lest the discomfort scare her away.

“So this is the quest we got.” He slid the quest paper over to Janine so that she could look at it. “Seems easy enough, and the reward is big.”

“Kill a bunch of kobolds,” she paraphrased.

“It won’t be that easy,” Lonnell informed him. “Some of them can cloak themselves in invisibility.”

Janine leaned back. “I don’t think you guys really need me.”

Uden put on a chipper tone. “But of course, we do. The more the merrier.”

They all seemed surprised by this. Just yesterday, he didn't care if she came along.

“I don’t know.” The dwarf shifted her weight, allowing her eyes to flick to Uden for a fraction of a second. “The last bounty we did was pretty hard.”

“It will be easier with more of us,” Azure tried to convince her. “Besides, the difficulty ranking should only be tuned to him.” He gestured toward Uden. “And he’s a lot lower level than all of us.”

“You don’t have to keep bringing that up,” the half-imp grumbled.

Janine smirked at his grumpiness. “I suppose if he needs to be protected, then maybe I should come along.” She turned her nose to the ceiling, teasing.

“Not you, too.” Uden slumped.

Good. They're communicating. This might work after all.

“Then it’s settled.” Azure pushed the quest paper back over to Uden. “We leave first thing in the morning.”

The dwarf sighed. “I suppose I can help you guys one more time. But just this once.”

She shared a look with Uden, and Azure swore he saw sparks flying again. He just hoped that the half-imp didn’t fuck it all up before the night was through.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

THE REALM – Day 85

By some miracle, they all returned to their own rooms that night. The next morning, the guys met Janine in the tavern, and then they all headed to the market to gear up.

All of the loot that Azure had collected from the gnoll quest garnered him 23 gold, 1 silver, and 9 copper. He also sold 16 Fireweed, and his Bronze Cuirass and Bronze Sword for 1 gold, 3 silver, and 5 copper. Surprised by the amount of coin he’d earned, Azure realized that going on this quest was now unnecessary. Still, he’d committed, and they’d gone through a lot of trouble to get Janine on board, so he wasn’t going to back out.

The entrance to the kobolds' den was surprisingly close. A trip that typically would have taken three hours on foot ended up taking four due to Lonnell foraging along the way. Uden and Janine took turns killing everything in their path. While Uden needed to level up more, Janine was still greedy for the experience. After a brief argument, they came to the agreement that Uden would kill all of the monsters up to his level, and Janine would take care of the rest up to level 11, at which point Lonnell and Azure would step in to help with anything higher than that. It seemed like a fair compromise. They never encountered anything high enough for Lonnell and Azure to have to step in though.

After diverting from the main road for about an hour, the forest gave way to a large hill with an opening that appeared to be a burrow of sorts. Standing outside of the entrance were two kobolds.

Trees surrounded the area, providing good cover. The Adventurers Stealthed themselves, and Azure activated Analyze to get an idea of what they were up against.

Level 3 Kobold Sentry.

Level 5 Kobold Sentry.

To his surprise, he hadn't lied to Janine. It appeared that the quest was calibrated to Uden's level. This was going to be a cakewalk.

Since the kobolds weren't a challenge for any of them but Uden, they sent him in on his own. Slipping into the shadows with the same finesse as he'd had when he was a higher level than Azure, the half-imp disappeared to make his way behind the hill. His Stealth was less impressive when they saw him creeping toward the kobolds from the side of the mound. It made Azure want to snigger, but he refrained.

The kobolds seemed to be some ungodly mix of lizard and ewok. Their skin was scaly, yet they somehow were covered with random patches of fur. An underbite with fangs jutting up decorated a short, black muzzle. Hunched over, their hands and feet seemed too large for their bodies, ending in wicked looking claws. Their long arms hung between their legs, their paws touching the floor, providing balance. Round ears protruding from the sides of their heads did nothing to alert them of the incoming danger. Then again, while Azure and the rest of the party could see Uden approaching, his footfalls were so soft and carefully placed that he couldn't be heard.

He pounced on the first kobold, making short work of it almost before the second had even noticed. The next several minutes were spent with the second kobold swiping at the half-imp while he parried then wove in to attack again. All Azure could think about was how easy it would be for him to down the kobold with an arrow. Part of him wanted to do it just to be a dick, but he also knew that it wouldn’t benefit their party for Uden to remain weak. If they really wanted him to level up, Azure should have grabbed a Bounty quest instead. Then he could have piggybacked off of their higher-level kills. This would be good for getting his feet wet, though. And for hopefully convincing Janine to continue to quest with them. Azure still wondered how in the hell this quest paid so much when it seemed extremely easy.

Once Uden was done taking care of the sentries, they regrouped to enter the burrow. It looked like any other hole in the ground, dark and smelling of earth. Roots and rocks protruded from the sides, and it had a soft downward slope to it. The opening was just wide enough for them to travel side by side two at a time.

Azure made torches for him and Janine while Lonnell resorted to using his Small Flame spell.

They proceeded onward, listening for any signs of approaching enemies. It wasn’t long before another kobold emerged from the shadows, though this one was a bit different than the last. What fur it had was tinged with red, unlike the brown of the sentries. It Analyzed as a level 4 kobold guard.

Again, Uden took the lead, attacking with his daggers. The rest of the party hung back, and Azure wondered if Lonnell and Janine were feeling the same way he was...wondering when they'd finally see some action. As it was now, it felt like they were only there to protect Uden from anything he couldn't handle.

The burrow had no shortage of kobold guards. It seemed like they encountered one every few yards, all too low-level for anyone but Uden to bother stepping in. He leveled up on the next one, and they all congratulated him.

“Our little man is growing up,” Azure teased, at which he was met with a glare.

They reached the next level of the dungeon a little after noon, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. Even though Uden’s Stamina was more than halfway depleted, they decided to descend, knowing that together they could likely handle anything than lie below.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, the tunnel split off in two different directions. The Adventurers shared a look.

“You and Uden, me and Janine?” Azure suggested to Lonnell.

“Shouldn’t we be split more equally, just in case?”

“Do you really think we’re going to encounter anything powerful here?” He raised a brow.

“Probably not. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Lonnell cast his flame down the left path.

“I think he and I can handle whatever comes our way.” Janine looked to Uden. It seemed that she was interested in getting some alone time with him.

Ignoring her, Lonnell said, “I meant me and you should go together, and Azure and Uden should take the other tunnel.”

“Maybe we should let them go together,” Azure said of Uden and Janine. That way, they could hash out whatever was going on between them. All day, everyone had interacted normally with very little tension. Whatever spark the two had shared last night seemed to have dissipated during the journey to the burrow.

“Is this really that important of a decision?” Uden seemed bored.

“I suppose not.” Azure sighed. “You’re with me.” He looked at Uden, then turned to Lonnell and Janine. “You two pick a path.”

“Well, we’re already facing this way. We’ll take the left.” Lonnell stepped to the side to claim the left path.

“Sounds fine to me.” Janine crossed her arms over her chest, seeming a bit upset that she hadn’t been paired with Uden.

“Let’s get this done.” Uden led the way down their path, and it wasn’t long before they encountered their first enemy. He charged in while Azure activated Analyze.

Level 6 Kobold Warrior.

This kobold’s fur was even darker, almost maroon. Azure guessed that was how to tell them apart without Analyzing them.

He waited as his friend struggled against the creature. It was strange to see Uden have to put so much effort in against a monster that Azure could have easily taken out in one blow. Strange but somewhat entertaining. Oh, how the tables had turned.

“So what’s the deal with you and Janine?” he asked while Uden was busy looting the corpse.

“What deal?”

“There’s this weird...thing going on between you.” Azure made a circular gesture in frustration that he couldn’t find the words for what he was trying to say.

Another kobold warrior appeared, and Uden rushed forward, cutting off the conversation. Azure waited impatiently, leaning against the burrow wall with his torch in hand.

The half-imp returned winded, wiping sweat from his brow. “Whew, I’m getting tired.”

“I can take over whenever you’re ready. It won’t be anything for me at all.” He pushed himself from the wall.

“Bragger.”

Azure ignored him. “Back to the topic at hand.”

Uden turned around, walking backward. “Janine and I will be fine.”

“Janine and you, huh?” That was news to him. It was hard for Azure to picture the half-imp and the dwarf together. Such an unlikely pair.

Uden paused to listen to a sound that Azure couldn’t hear. “Heads up. Incoming.”

A few seconds later, he was running down the tunnel to engage the next kobold in combat. By the time Azure caught up, the creature was already dying at the half-imp’s feet.

“You know, I don’t really need the light.” As if to prove his point, Uden tilted his head toward Azure. The torchlight reflected from his eerie green eyes, reminding Azure of a cat in the dark.

“I know that. But I do.”

“Pity. It might be fun to watch you fumble around in the dark.” A wicked smirk took over the half-imp’s face.

“I could kill you with one blow,” Azure warned.

Uden stepped up to him, amusement etched in his features. “But would you? You went through so much to bring me back.”

The closeness made Azure uncomfortable, so he took a step back. “Let’s keep going.” He gestured further down the burrow with his torch.

“Yes. Let’s.” The half-imp refocused his attention, flanking his comrade’s side.

“Back to the subject of Janine,” Azure mentioned after a few minutes of walking.

Uden picked up his pace, drawing his daggers. “It appears that the powers that be are trying to tell you to shut up about it.”

He disappeared into the darkness, and Azure could hear a skirmish taking place up ahead. Each time the half-imp emerged, he looked more and more exhausted, his Stamina at less than 25%.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take over?” Azure raised a brow.

“Just one more.” Uden held up a finger.

“Just one more,” he parroted with a nod. It could be dangerous to let Uden’s Stamina get too low.

Knowing it was pointless, Azure didn’t bother bringing up Janine again. Nature would take its course however it did.

Another enemy came, and Uden quickly dispatched of it. Then it was Azure’s turn to take over. Bored out of his mind, he was happy to see some action.

Now was as good a time as any to test out his new Gnollish Club. Of course, as soon as he passed the torch over to Uden and pulled it from his Bag of Holding, the half-imp had something snarky to say.

“Are you really going to use that thing? You look like a caveman.”

“If you saw the stats of this thing, you wouldn’t be making fun of it.” Azure’s eyes raked up the side of the club. It looked like nothing more than a large conical piece of wood, crudely carved.

“I’m not sure it would be worth it.” He snorted at the club in distaste.

“It would buff you up quite a bit. But you don’t meet the level requirement.” Azure gave Uden a mock look of sympathy, at which the half-imp playfully threatened him with the torch, holding it like a club of his own.

By the time their banter was at an end, another kobold warrior had appeared.

Level 6 Kobold Warrior.

The two charged at each other, Azure with his club held overhead, and the kobold rushing in like an idiot. He slammed the weapon down on its thick skull, caving it in with a sickening thud, the weight of the club aiding its descent.

Critical Hit! Defeated Level 6 Kobold Warrior. 36XP rewarded.

“You made that look easy,” Uden said with a slight frown.

“That’s because it was easy.” Azure stared at the sunken body before him. There was an indentation from the club in the creature’s skull. “Want to see something else cool? Check this out.”

“I never said you looked cool,” the half-imp grumbled as he watched Azure lift his Loot Automizer Pendant toward the kobold.

The body of the kobold began to glitter bright maroon, then it fell away, leaving an oblong orb behind.

Uden’s eyes widened in wonder as Azure picked the orb up. “What is it?”

“You’ll see.” He held the orb, and it began to change, leaving behind a long bone.

You have received the following item:

Kobold Leg Bone

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

“Oh, I am so jealous right now,” Uden confessed. “I have got to get one of those. Where did you get it?”

Azure shook his head, a smug grin across his face. “I don’t think you can buy it. I looted it from a chest in the last dungeon we were in.”

Greed filled the half-imp’s eyes. “Hopefully, we can find another one in here.”

“I doubt it. There doesn’t seem to be much in this cave.” He gazed ahead into the darkness.

“You never know. Dungeons always have good shit. Maybe I’ll even find something better.” The half-imp winked at him. “I do have Luck on my side, after all.”

“I bet mine beats yours right now,” Azure said as they continued down the tunnel. “Care to compare?”

“16,” Uden declared proudly.

“19. Eat a dick!” He couldn’t keep the grin from taking over his face as the half-imp scowled. Though he had to admit that a 16 in luck was still impressive considering all that Uden had lost.

“I thought you weren’t into boys.” The half-imp quickly recovered from his disappointment, sliding a hand onto Azure’s shoulder.

He shrugged it off. “Eat someone else’s dick.”

All humor faded from Uden’s voice as he paused. “Heads up. One ahead.”

Azure defeated the next kobold just as swiftly as the one before it. They were no challenge to him. Merely a nuisance in his way.

Defeated Level 5 Kobold Warrior. 30XP rewarded.

Up to that point, Uden had been taking the kobolds' fingers. Only their fingers. Janine had never bothered to look in her bestiary to see what was lootable, perhaps suspecting that Uden already knew since he went straight for the fingers every time. Now Azure wondered what else they were missing.

He knelt next to his kill, doing the grisly deed of butchering the body while Uden watched. It was a lot of work, and it made him wish his Loot Automizer Pendant had more charges, or at least that he would have repaired the Durability on it before coming on this quest.

You have received the following items:

Kobold Leg Bone

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

Kobold Phalanges

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting.

His hands were covered in blood when he was done. Taking a scrap of cloth that he'd designated for such jobs, Azure wiped his fingers off before continuing down the tunnel.

The next foe was found only a few yards down the burrow. Rinse and repeat, then TRING!

Congratulations! You are now Level 14! Your base stats have been boosted. You have earned 3 points to assign to your characteristics. Please note that adding points to some characteristics(Vitality, Intelligence, and Strength) will further boost your base stats. You may also advance any 1 skill of your choosing by 1 level.

“Oh, look. Now I’m even stronger than you,” Azure teased.

“Shut it.” Uden narrowed his eyes. “It isn’t a competition. When did you get so cocky?”

“Someone had to be cocky after you died. I guess it just stuck.” He smirked as he knelt to loot the corpse.

You have received the following items:

Kobold Leg Bone

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.

Kobold Phalanges

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting.

“You need some time to allocate your points?” Uden asked before they continued.

“Nah. I’m good. I can do it tonight. We should finish up this level and get back to the group.” He gazed into the darkness, wondering when and where the tunnel would end. They’d been walking for hours.

“So much confidence you have now. No longer the scared boy I remember.”

“Boy? I’m older than you, you know.” Azure snorted.

It wasn’t much longer before they encountered yet another kobold warrior. He couldn’t help but feel that it was a waste of their time having him kill everything, but Uden was pretty much spent.

“This is getting boring,” Azure confessed once he finished looting the body.

“Oh, is it?” Uden responded dryly. A few yards later, he paused. “Perhaps I can make it a bit more interesting for you.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “What are you going to do?” Azure asked, but the half-imp was already walking away from him.

Uden turned with a shit-eating grin and dropped the torch mic drop style.

“No. No. No.” Azure rushed forward to stop him, but the half-imp was too fast, stomping out the torch and disappearing into the darkness. “Oh, you asshole,” he grumbled, refusing to play into the Uden's desire for him to panic. Instead, he focused on digging into his Bag of Holding to retrieve the materials needed to relight the torch. Apparently, the half-imp had forgotten about that.

“Here kobold, kobold, kobold,” Uden said as if calling a cat except that his voice was dark and menacing. “That’s a good kobold.”

The scraping of claws against dirt that Azure typically associated with kobolds filled his ears as one came down the tunnel. Quickly, he reached for where Uden had dropped the torch, but the bastard must have predicted what he would do and taken it.

“Oh, I hate you so much right now.” Azure straightened himself, grabbing his club and listening for the approaching kobold.

“What? You said you were bored. I’m making things more...interesting.” The half-imp forced innocence into his tone.

The next thing Azure heard was a grunt followed by pain tearing across his right arm.

Level 5 Kobold Warrior delivers 25 damage.

Knowing that the creature was too dumb to back up, Azure swung his club like a baseball bat, aiming in the direction the attack had come from. It connected with a loud thud, knocking the wind from the kobold. Surprisingly, the direct hit hadn’t been enough to kill it.

“Aw, you wounded him.” Uden pouted from somewhere behind Azure. “Such a bully.”

“I’m going to wound you as soon as I can see again,” he threatened.

“Then maybe I’ll just leave you here. If I remember correctly, which I do, you grabbed a stick from outside. That means you don’t have anything to make a new torch with.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, really? Clearly, you don’t know me as well as you thought. Have fun on your own.” Already, the half-imp’s voice was fading into the distance. “Hope you don’t die.”

“Uden, get back here!”

There was no sound of footsteps.

He must have activated Stealth. Fucker.

“Uden, I’m not fucking playing,” Azure seethed.

No response.

The only noise in the tunnel came from something shuffling in the dirt a few feet away. Taking cautious steps, Azure swung blindly with his club. Eventually, his foot made contact with something. Apparently, the kobold he had hit was injured enough that it was struggling to stand. A heavy downward swing ended it.

Defeated Level 5 Kobold Warrior. 30XP rewarded.

Looting the body in the dark wasn't going to happen. For the briefest of moments, Azure thought about using his Loot Automizer Pendant again, but he wasn't sure if the glittering would show in the darkness, and he didn't want to waste another Durability. Instead, he walked with hands outstretched until he felt the wall of the tunnel.

More than likely, Uden had made good on his word and left. Azure was on his own now.

Continuing toward the unknown was out of the question. Even if he was stronger than any of the foes they had encountered so far, Azure was at a disadvantage blind. Anything could sneak up on him and slit his throat, and it would all be over—regardless of level difference. The smarter thing to do was to head back, even though it killed him to know he had wasted so much time.

Using the wall as his guide, Azure slowly maneuvered back down the tunnel, praying that no more kobolds appeared. Hopefully, Uden was nearby, watching to make sure that he was all right, but Azure wasn't going to count on it. The half-imp had already left him for dead once.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

THE REALM – Day 85

It took a little over an hour of feeling his way along before Azure finally saw light approaching him. He readied his club in case it was a foe, but thankfully, Janine, Lonnell, and Uden appeared around the corner seconds later. Azure breathed a sigh of relief, though his body quickly wound up with anger from seeing the half-imp.

“You son of a bitch.” He took long strides in Uden’s direction, ready to beat him to a bloody pulp. Back on Crescent Island, the half-imp would have had the upper hand. Now, he should be easy to defeat.

“Calm down.” Lonnell stepped between them, blocking Azure’s path.

“I will not calm down. That asshole left me to die. Again!” he punctuated the last.

“Oh, stop being so dramatic.” Uden waved his anger away. “We both know you totally had that.”

“What if more kobolds had come?” Azure’s anger flared. “You, of all people, should know how easy it is to kill something of a higher level when you can sneak up on it.”

“I do.” Uden nodded. “But kobolds are stupid. They’d never plan anything other than a frontal assault.”

“How do you know that?” His voice raised several octaves.

All humor faded from the half-imp’s tone. “I read it. Do you really think I would leave you like that if I thought you were in danger? I thought you trusted me more than that.”

“How can I fucking trust you when you left me in the fucking dark!”

Now Lonnell was really having to hold him back.

Janine was standing on the sidelines several feet away looking uncomfortable. Thankfully, she wasn’t trying to step in to stop the fight.

“Oh, get over it. It was just a prank.” Uden rolled his eyes.

“It wasn’t funny,” Lonnell shot back at his brother. “You will not do it again.”

“Oh my. Listen to that voice of authority.” The half-imp smirked at him, slinking back toward Janine.

“I’m not going to protect you from this.” She held her hands up as if he had some disease.

“I don’t really need protecting.” Uden sneered, his gaze falling to the floor when he realized that none of them were quickly getting over what he had done.

“Not funny. Don’t do it again,” Lonnell repeated more firmly.

“Fine, fine.” The half-imp flicked his wrist. “I won’t do it again.”

“Promise.” Lonnell burned into him with his gaze.

Uden quickly placed a hand behind his back, crossing his fingers. “I promise.”

“He’s lying,” Janine pointed out.

“Oh, I know he is. My brother is full of those.” Lonnell glared at him.

“Fine!” The half-imp sighed, bringing both hands in front of him. “I promise that I will not leave Azure in the dark again.”

“Or any of the rest of us.” Azure moved his head to encompass all of them.

Uden rolled his eyes. “Or anyone else. I swear, you’re all just a big bunch of babies that don’t know how to have fun.”

“No.” Lonnell finally let Azure go, figuring that he had cooled down enough. “We’re all just a party of people in a dungeon that want to be able to trust each other.”

“Sure. Whatever, whatever.” The half-imp gestured absentmindedly.

Once they had all calmed down, they regrouped to discuss their findings.

“The next set of stairs is down the other tunnel,” Lonnell informed Uden and Azure.

“I have no idea what—” Azure began to say, his eyes narrowed at Uden, but the half-imp cut him off.

“Dead end.”

“Dead end? How do you know?” He quirked his head back.

“Because I checked it out while you were flailing around in the darkness.” A wide grin took over his face.

“But you went this way.” Azure pointed in the direction that Lonnell and Janine had come from. “I heard that much.”

“Stealth. I’m good at it, remember.” He winked condescendingly.

Azure’s expression drooped. “I don’t know if we should believe him.”

“We could keep going down that way,” Janine suggested, also suspecting that Uden was lying.

“No.” Lonnell shook his head. “If my brother says it’s just a dead end, then I’ll believe him.”

“If there’s nothing this way, then we should start heading back.” Azure nodded in the direction of the stairs leading to the first level, then started walking, forcing everyone else to follow. “How far is it from the first set of stairs to the next?”

“About three and a half hours.”

“It’s already starting to get late.” He gazed up at the sky as if he could see through the roof to the fading sun.

“We can still make it to the next set of stairs before midnight,” Lonnell urged them on.

“What would really be the point, though?” Azure glanced over at his friend. “There are no challenges for us here, minus the ones we create for each other.” He cast a cutting glance in Uden’s direction. “I feel like the best thing we can do with this dungeon is use it to level him up.”

“Don’t forget about me,” Janine piped in from the side. “That’s why I came.”

“You as well,” Azure added, now regretting bringing her along. It made no sense for Janine to be in competition with Uden when he was clearly weaker. Hell, she had already leveled up past Lonnell. Janine was now the second strongest member in their party next to Azure. While he understood that she wanted to gain experience for her quest, she wasn’t the one who needed it the most right now.

“So you’re suggesting that we go back to the fork and wait out the night so that the kobolds will respawn, then head for the next level tomorrow.” Lonnell flanked his side as they walked.

“That is exactly what I’m suggesting. We have seven days to complete this, and I doubt this dungeon is ten levels deep. I think we have time.”

Lonnell twisted to look at his brother. “What about you? What do you want to do?”

“Sounds good to me. I’m pretty useless right now. Burned through my Stamina quickly.” Uden dropped his gaze to the ground.

“And you?” Lonnell turned his attention to Janine.

“You guys know I’m just along for the ride.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll make camp early, then head out as soon as we’ve all slept enough.”

They reached the stairs, and Azure pulled his bedroll from his bag, handing it over to Uden. “Here.”

“What’s this for?” The half-imp hesitated to take it.

“I didn’t lose much Stamina today. If you sleep on this, you’ll be fully restored by tomorrow.”

Even though Uden had been a dick to him, Azure didn’t want him to start the next day with low Stamina. Besides, Azure had more than enough to get him through this piddly dungeon.

“We could always share.” The half-imp waggled his eyebrows, causing Azure to roll his eyes.

“I don’t think it works that way,” Janine said from a few feet away where she was smoothing out her own bedroll. “Otherwise, I would have already offered.”

“It was a joke.” His expression went slack.

“You guys sleep.” Azure reached into his Bag of Holding to get what he needed to build a fire. Thankfully, Lonnell had some sticks to pitch in. It was the only thing Azure had forgotten to bring. “Lonnell and I can take shifts.”

“We can?” Lonnell’s head jutted back.

“They’re low on Stamina. You and I haven’t really done anything today.”

“Ah, yes.” He nodded, now understanding his friend’s plan.

Azure pulled a few pieces of raw boar from his Bag of Holding and began cooking. By some miracle, he only burned one piece before he got them all fed. Knowing that they’d need more food in the morning and throughout their trip, he spent 50 Stamina to cook up five more pieces, burning the other half to a crisp.

Once he was done with that, Azure leaned against the cool burrow wall and brought up his character sheet to assign his points.

Name: Azure

Race: Human

Level: 14, 15% of the way to next level

Health: 425 / 340 (460)

Mana: 430 / 290 (440)

Stamina: 300 / 310 (440)

Vitality: 20 (12)

Intelligence: 15 (15)

Strength: 17 (12)

Agility: 14 (10)

Dexterity: 15 (8)

Charisma: 11 (9)

Luck: 14 (5)

Skills: Archery Lvl 8; 6% of the way to next level

Stealth Lvl 4; 33% of the way to next level

Analyze Lvl 11; 57% of the way to next level

Cooking Lvl 5; 90% of the way to next level

Alchemy Lvl 5; 14% of the way to next level

Foraging Lvl 11; 96% of the way to next level

One-Handed Weapons Lvl 9; 52% of the way to next level

Tracking Lvl 2; 80% of the way to next level

Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 6; 55% of the way to next level

Fishing Lvl 3; 0% of the way to next level

Drinking Lvl 2; 45% of the way to next level

Land Magic Lvl 3; 23% of the way to next level

Enchanting Lvl 3; 33% of the way to next level

Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue, Elvish, Cheoksum

Adventurer Rank: E

Damn. He was super buff. There was really nowhere he felt he really needed improvement.

For shits and giggles, Azure threw his first point into Luck...because fuck Uden. Briefly, he thought about throwing his other two there as well, but that felt like it would be a waste. Instead, he put them both into Mana, knowing that he'd be using his Summon Mount spell a ton in the future.

With that done, Azure turned his attention to his skills. There were quite a few close to leveling, which made him wish he had a few Small Skill Tokens to spare. That wasn't the case though, so Azure focused on the one skill farthest from leveling that he actually used a lot. Archery.

Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 9. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

Well, that was easy, Azure thought as he closed his character sheet, content with his decisions. Now all that was left to do was sit back and wait for morning.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

THE REALM – Day 86

Uden and Janine woke up refreshed, Azure had mostly recuperated his stats during his brief sleep, and Lonnell had nothing to recover. For breakfast, they ate the boar that Azure had cooked the night before, then continued down the path that Lonnell and Janine had taken the previous day.

Enemies were just as plentiful as they had been yesterday. The rest of the party held back while Uden took care of them one at a time until they finally reached the stairs leading to the next level.

Thrice did they encounter kobolds the same level as Uden, and Azure reveled in the half-imp's misery when he miscalculated a swing of his dagger and ended up getting clawed in the side. After being abandoned in the dark, he felt no sympathy for Uden. The guy deserved to get his ass handed to him, and if Azure couldn't be the one to do it, then he'd take satisfaction in watching the half-imp get hurt during combat. Of course, both Lonnell and Janine were far more coddling, running up to Uden and making sure that he was all right once the fray was over. He'd get no such treatment from Azure.

When they descended the stairs to the next level, the tunnel split yet again, this time in four different directions. They stared down the paths, each looking identical.

Probably more decoy tunnels,” Lonnell surmised. “How do you want to tackle this one?” he asked Azure. “The enemies on this floor should be stronger, but nothing that we can’t handle.” His gaze moved to Janine before settling on Uden. “I still don’t want him going alone.”

Initially, Azure thought it would be best to put Janine and Uden together, but then he remembered that they’d fight over kills, so it probably wasn’t a smart idea. “Go with your brother. Maybe you can control him.” He snorted in Uden’s direction. “Janine and I will each take a tunnel alone.”

“I’m a lower level than the both of you,” Lonnell pointed out. “Shouldn’t you go with Uden again since you don’t need the experience?”

“I will never travel alone with that prick again.” Azure glared at Uden.

“Someone can certainly hold a grudge,” the half-imp mumbled under his breath.

“He’s your brother; he’s your problem,” Azure reiterated.

“Fine,” Lonnell surrendered with a sigh. “Now I guess we just need to decide which tunnels to take.”

“Let’s go in order of our first names. I’ll take the tunnel to the left, Janine will take the next one, and you guys can take the third. Once we’re done, we’ll meet back here and go down the last one together.”

Janine hesitated. “I think it would be better if we stayed paired up.”

“Why?”

She shrank slightly. “I’m not really a fan of these...caves or tunnels or whatever you call them. I usually don’t take quests that involve them.”

Azure sighed inwardly. Pairing up would waste time. Still, he cared for Janine enough to want her to be comfortable. “Fine. You come with me. We’ll take the first tunnel. They can take the next one.”

She quickly flanked Azure's side.

“It’s still early, so hopefully we can finish this level before tonight,” Azure said to the group.

“Hopefully.” Lonnell nodded. “See you guys back here in a few hours.”

They headed down their assigned paths, and it wasn’t long before Janine and Azure came across their first enemy. This kobold had a green tint to its fur, and it paused as soon as it saw them, raising up on its hind legs.

“What’s it doing?” Janine asked.

“I don’t know.” Azure quickly activated Analyze.

Level 8 Kobold Novice.

The kobold began to growl, and a green ball formed between its paws.

“Incoming,” Azure warned.

Thrusting its arms forward, the burst of magic sailed straight for the center, not caring who it hit. The basketball-sized orb of, what appeared to be, transparent green water with a dark green nucleus, levitated toward them. Whatever it was, it moved fairly slowly, allowing both Adventurers plenty of time to get out of the way. When it hit the wall behind them, the ball erupted and sizzled against the dirt, causing chunks of it to slough off.

Acid, Azure thought, now wanting to make doubly sure he avoided getting hit. That looked like it would hurt.

“Be careful. We don't know what else it can cast,” he told Janine as she drew her ax to approach.

“I’m slow, but I’m not that slow.” She threw back at him.

Apparently, the spell had no cooldown period, because the kobold was already gearing up to cast again.

Janine charged in as overzealous as always. She hacked sideways, hitting the kobold in the arm. The spell bubble burst, coating the creature with spell backlash. It roared as its fur and scales began to scald, filling the air with a strangely not unpleasant scent. Then again, anything was better than the strong smell of feces that permeated most of the tunnel. Her next strike cleaved the kobold’s head nearly in half, causing it to topple over and surrender to death.

After holstering her ax, Janine pulled out her bestiary and flipped it open to the entry on kobold novices. Azure brought his torch closer, reading over her shoulder.

“My God, practically the entire thing is salvageable.” Most of the kobold’s bones and its pelt. He felt like he’d been wasting his kills up to this point.

“We don’t have time to take it all.” Janine closed the book and approached the body. “It would take a good hour to butcher it for all of its parts.”

“Or more.” Considering how many parts they could actually take.

“Best to go for the easy parts,” she said before hacking off both of the kobold’s paws, then doing her best to skin it for its pelt. “Bah!” Janine fell back onto her ass from the effort of trying to pull the hide from the beast’s stubborn corpse, following it up with a curse when she ended up ripping it. “Ruined.” She stood and spit at the dead kobold, though she still rolled up the fragments of pelt and stuck them in her bag.

Azure loved how she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Janine looted downed foes as if she’d spent a lifetime in The Realm. Then again, he had gotten used to it too after a short while. Maybe it was just natural to adapt.

They moved on, traveling about a hundred yards before the next kobold came into view, another caster. Again, Azure stepped aside to let Janine handle it. It would likely be another boring day for him.

Not waiting for the beast to fire off its spell, Janine rushed in while the kobold was casting. Wrong move. When she leaned to the side to avoid being hit, she miscalculated, and the orb clipped her shoulder, exploding in midair. The sizzling sound of skin made Azure cringe, as did her cry of pain. Either the pain was immense or the spell had a stunning effect, because she dropped her ax and retreated toward the wall.

Seeing the kobold gear up to cast again, Azure rushed in, pulling his club and swinging it one-handed. With his left hand, the weight was a bit unwieldy, but he was able to interrupt the kobold’s spell, bursting the green bubble and causing acid to fall onto the creature’s paws. It too cried out in pain, taking a few steps back.

Azure diverted his attention to Janine, who was already recovering.

“Son of a bitch, that hurt,” she said through clenched teeth as she picked back up her ax. In the torchlight, Azure could see where the acid had eaten through her armor to her flesh, leaving a red bubbling wound behind. Thankfully, it was far from fatal. “I’ve got this.” Janine held a hand out, indicating that he should get back.

Never one to get in a pissed off woman’s way, Azure retreated several steps to watch the angry dwarf chop her ax down on the injured kobold like a psychopath enjoying their kill a bit too much. Blood splattered every which way, and the high-pitched whimpering of the kobold made it sound like it was begging for mercy.

Janine returned to him panting, her ax arm hanging limp as she clutched the burn on her shoulder with her other hand. “Bastard,” she grumbled, turning to spit on the corpse. “That will teach you.”

“I’m sure he learned his lesson.” Azure’s eyes widened, and he did his best not to look amused. Nothing could be learned if you were dead.

She paused to uncork a healing potion, drinking it down. The flesh and skin quickly began to regenerate until the injury looked like nothing more than a small scab.

“So what did we learn from that?” Azure asked once Janine had finished looting the body.

“Let it cast first, then come in and attack.”

“That’s what I learned, too.” He was glad she hadn’t gotten mad at him for seeming condescending. Because that had sounded kind of condescending.

Out of sheer boredom, Azure felt nosiness coming on. “So...you and Uden?” he brought up as they began walking again.

“There is no me and Uden,” she replied coldly. “I told you, it was just a booty call.”

Azure chuckled. “Isn’t it kind of awkward to be partied up with your ex-booty call?”

“It would be less awkward if he’d just acted normal afterward,” Janine sighed.

“What do you mean?” He raised an eyebrow.

She seemed to sulk a bit. “The day after...well, you know, I was in the tavern having breakfast. He came in, saw me, and then diverted to another table. It’s like I wasn’t even there.”

Azure cringed. “That’s rough.” A classic douchebag one-night stand move.

“I knew what it was when it happened,” Janine confessed. “I wasn’t looking for anything. I even told him that when we were together. He didn’t have to go and be a dick about it.”

“Uden is always a dick.” He rolled his eyes. “That’s just Uden.”

“To be honest, I didn’t want to come on this quest. I stressed myself out thinking about it all the next day—went back and forth between yes and no. I knew things were going to be weird.”

“Then why did you come?” Azure glanced over at her.

“I’m here for you. Well...because of you,” she hesitated. “Because you’re my only real link to our world. I mean...I could have let you go with them and probably met back up with you later, but I remembered how dangerous these quests are, and I wanted to...Never mind.” Janine shook her head.

“You wanted to what?” He bent slightly to grab her attention again.

“It’s going to sound completely stupid.” A small chuckle escaped from her lips.

“I’m sure it won’t sound stupid.” Azure grinned at her.

“Well,” Janine took a deep breath, finding it hard to speak. “I guess I wanted to protect you.”

Azure bit his bottom lip, guilt invading every cell of his being. He’d gone out of his way to get her to come on quests that he clearly thought were dangerous, and all that she wanted to do was protect him. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Azure felt emasculated, but more than that...he felt ashamed.

“I’m going to be fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” he assured her.

“I’m fairly certain you would have been.” She nodded slightly. “But now I know for sure.” A genuine smile graced her face.

“Hey.” Azure bumped into her as they walked. It was accidental, but it worked for the moment. “Don’t worry about him. It’s just you and me. At the end of the day, we’re all that really matters.”

“Aw. I didn’t know you were such a romantic, William.” Janine drew her hand up to her chest and giggled.

“I’m serious. Yes, they’re my friends, and I’ve known them longer, but you’re the first person I’ve met who has actually made me feel sane. All this time, I thought I was going crazy. Or maybe that I always was crazy. To hear that you’re from Earth, too... It made a world of difference, and I can’t even explain it.”

“I feel the same way,” her voice lowered as she spoke, and her attention suddenly became focused on something ahead. “I think there’s one coming.”

Azure listened for the scuffling of feet. “I think you’re right.”

Two more kobold novices down, and they finally came to what appeared to be a dead end. The tunnel concluded in a cul-de-sac no bigger than a bedroom.

“Hm. Maybe Uden wasn’t lying after all,” Azure said as he examined the space.

“You really thought he was lying?” She raised a brow.

Something caught Azure from behind, knocking him forward and causing raking pain down his back.

Critical hit! Level 11 Kobold Adept delivers 65 damage.

Azure spun around to face his attacker, but there was nothing there.

“Are you all right?” Janine rushed to his side.

“Grab your ax. It’s invisible,” he warned only a second before a large paw appeared out of nowhere and swiped at Janine. She cried out in pain as she collided with his body. Azure stood like a rock, gripping her shoulders to keep her from falling over and then immediately moving her behind him.

He barely had time to draw his club before the kobold struck again, coming in from the left this time.

Level 11 Kobold Adept delivers 55 damage.

“Son of a bitch!” His arm pulsed with red agony. The wound was deep, shredding muscle and causing him to lose some mobility. With a shaky hand, he passed his torch back to Janine before gripping his club with both hands and swinging wildly out in front of them.

This kobold seemed to be more intelligent than its predecessors, hanging back while Azure expended his energy fighting nothing.

“Back against the wall,” he said as he ran into Janine while backing up.

“Is there just one or more?” Her eyes roved from side to side, seeing nothing but empty space.

“I don’t know. Stay behind me though.”

“I can’t fight if I’m behind you,” she argued.

As if trying to grant her wish, a paw reached out from the void and gripped Janine’s arm, pulling her to the side. The harsh unexpectedness of it caused her to lose her footing and tumble to the floor. Azure took advantage of her prone position to swing his club in the direction that the paw had come from, but it simply passed through air.

Scrambling to all fours, Janine tried to crawl back over to Azure, but a hand grabbed her ankle and began dragging her out of the room. She screamed and turned to kick at the beast. Each landed blow sent a shock wave through the kobold, making its form appear for a split second before fading out again.

With its hand grasping Janine’s ankle, Azure had a pretty good idea of where the kobold was. At least, the one that had Janine. He had no idea if there were more.

Unshouldering his bow and pulling an arrow from his quiver, Azure nocked and loosed into the seeming emptiness of the tunnel. A grunt was his first reward, followed by breaking the kobold’s invisibility spell. It let go of Janine’s ankle to pull the arrow out of its arm, and she quickly scrambled away, finding her feet and then jogging several steps toward Azure before turning around and grabbing her ax.

The kobold tossed the bloody arrow aside and roared at them before pushing its paws together to weave a few symbols. Janine was in the way, so Azure wasn’t able to get another shot in.

“Move,” he called to her, but it was too late.

The dwarf was already charging at the kobold with ax raised, and the beast had already disappeared. She cleaved down with all of her might, hitting air. Predicting her move, the kobold countered, a paw appearing for half a second to swipe across her back—a similar attack as what had happened when the kobold had caught Azure off-guard.

Janine screamed through the pain, falling against the wall and clutching onto it for support.

“Behind me,” Azure said again, noticing the large chunk of health that the kobold had shaved off of Janine with each strike. “I have a lot more Health than you.”

“I’ve got this,” she insisted, though she still retreated.

He placed his body between her and whatever might be approaching. The kobold may have been invisible, but it was still making noise. No longer worried about stealthing itself for a surprise attack, the creature moved freely about the tunnel. Looking down, Azure noticed footprints. He tried to find their origin but was hit by an unexpected uppercut that flung him back into Janine.

Level 11 Kobold Adept delivers 55 damage.

For a moment, he worried that his jaw was broken. Azure spit out a piece of his own tongue mingled with a mouthful of blood.

“Thtay back,” he mumbled almost inaudibly to Janine.

Fuck this kobold. If he couldn’t hit it with his weapon, he’d fight magic with magic.

Azure cast Grease, dousing the area in front of them. The invisible form of the kobold was completely drenched in the dark liquid, creating a solid outline. Gripping his club firmly, Azure trudged forward. Slowed and panicked, the kobold tried to move out of Azure's reach, but it was no use. Even with the thick sludge sticking to his feet, Azure was faster. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to escape, the kobold swung its paws in a desperate attempt to fend off its attacker. Azure slammed his club down on the kobold's left arm first, and it howled in pain. The second blow was more merciful. Using all of his strength, Azure struck the kobold's head so hard that blood sprayed out of its right ear. Its head fell over to the side at an awkward angle, and its body followed.

Critical hit! Defeated Level 11 Kobold Adept. 99XP rewarded.

“Are there more?” Janine asked, her eyes volleying around as she kept on the defense.

“I don no. I don thin so,” Azure struggled to speak with his swollen, throbbing tongue. He took a moment to dig into his Bag of Holding and extract two Poor Quality Potions of Minor Healing. If there were more kobold adepts around, now would be the perfect time for them to attack.

Thankfully, the potions regenerated the part of his tongue he had lost and dropped the swelling until he was able to speak again with only mild discomfort from his aching jaw. As an added bonus, they didn't get attacked again while Azure was drinking the potions.

“I think we’re safe,” he said with a relieved sigh.

Azure wrinkled his nose, not wanting to touch the kobold’s body since it was covered in grease. As it was, he was nervous standing in the puddle with Janine so close to it with a torch in her hand.

“Whatever you do, don’t drop that,” he told her as if she needed the warning. Her grip firmed on the torch.

With an inward sigh, Azure decided to use his Loot Automizer Pendant again. He’d get more from the corpse if he looted it outright, but it just wasn’t worth the time or getting his hands dirty.

You have received the following item:

Kobold Adept Ear

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 1.0 kg

Uses: Crafting.

“What a waste,” he scoffed, resisting the urge to toss the ear back in the grease out of frustration. Even worse, he only got one, not both of them.

“I guess there’s nothing else here.” Janine looked back toward the cul-de-sac.

“I guess not.” Azure sighed, staring into the darkness before them. “Let’s head back.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

THE REALM – Day 86

Janine and Azure reached the fork in the tunnel a little after noon. Uden and Lonnell were nowhere to be seen, so they waited. Sitting down to rest, Azure offered Janine some Blue Mushrooms to munch on, but she had brought snacks of her own. After the rejection, he decided to take down his last piece of cooked boar instead. When he was questing, Azure typically didn’t eat lunch, but with nothing better to do, why not.

Several hours passed before torchlight could be seen streaming from the other path.

“That took you guys a while,” Azure pointed out as he pulled himself from the floor.

“How long have you been waiting?” Lonnell asked.

“Hours,” Janine told them. “We were starting to worry.”

“Your tunnel must have been shorter than ours then,” Uden surmised.

“What did you find?” Lonnell asked.

“A dead end with a nasty disappearing kobold adept,” Azure informed them.

“Same.” Uden frowned. “That bastard was crafty. Got me good before we even knew he was there.” He rubbed a visible wound on his arm that was just beginning to scab.

“Well, two down, two to go.” Azure looked at the other two tunnels.

“I’m not sure I’ve got it in me for another one today. My Stamina is already running low. But at least I leveled up.” The half-imp grinned.

“That’s good to hear. Now you’ll be less useless.” He forced a mocking smile, causing Uden to scowl.

“We could camp for the night again,” Lonnell suggested, “but it’s still pretty early,”

“Yeah.” Janine’s gaze shifted to the roof of the tunnel. “I don’t think the sun is even starting to set yet.”

“Want to check out the other tunnel while they wait here?” Azure glanced over at her.

“Or they can wait here, and we can go,” Lonnell said quickly. “I’m pretty close to leveling up. I hate lagging behind you guys.”

“That works for me. I’m fine either way.”

“Or we could all go together,” Janine offered, clearly not wanting to be left out of gathering more experience.

“I thought this was supposed to be my quest,” Uden piped in. “Is it really necessary to move on today?”

“No, but I’m going to get bored sitting around here,” Azure confessed. “And if I get bored, I’m going to want to cook to level up the skill. And if I do that, I’m going to drain all of my Stamina.”

“I could work on my alchemy.” Lonnell was clearly leaning toward siding with his brother.

“That’s not the point.” He shook his head. “I don’t think any of us have Stamina potions, so sleeping on a bedroll is the only way to fully restore it. If I waste all of my Stamina tonight and you waste all of your Stamina, we’re going to go into tomorrow at a disadvantage.”

“I have a few Stamina potions,” Lonnell said, adding, “not that I plan on using them in here. I don’t think it’s a big deal if we each use half of our Stamina. At this point, we all have a pretty good idea of what we can expect to encounter on this level.”

“Fine,” Azure relented with a sigh. “Then we waste the rest of the day here.”

He rolled out his bedroll and practically ordered Uden to go to sleep, his logic being that it was early enough that they could all make use of the two bedrolls before morning came and face the next day completely replenished. Janine spread out on her own bedroll, quickly falling asleep. Meanwhile, Azure built a fire, and Lonnell sat against the tunnel wall to mix potions.

Knowing that he’d get a full turn on his bedroll later, Azure didn’t worry about wasting Stamina. After cooking five pieces of meat, he leveled up the skill again.

Congratulations! The skill: Cooking has reached Level 2. You have to eat to survive. You now have a 48% chance of not burning your food when only cooking one item. Your mother would be so proud.

For all of his effort, Azure was only able to produce 20 pieces of cooked boar. When the others awoke, he handed out rations, ate his supper, and then went to bed.

Due to Uden running out of Stamina so quickly, none of them were in a big hurry to get going the next morning. They took their time having breakfast, then snuffed out the fire, settling on the same course of action as the day before. Azure and Janine would take the first unexplored tunnel, and Uden and Lonnell would go down the last. They'd meet back at the stairs when they were done.

Things went much as they had the previous day. Azure bared the torch while Janine rushed forward to slay any kobolds in their path. The tunnel was teeming with kobold novices, eight in all before they finally reached the end.

Another cul-de-sac awaited them, and they approached it with caution. There was a small rickety chest sitting in the middle. Azure fully expecting it to be a trap.

He and Janine stood side by side, making a wall with their bucklers so that any kobold that emerged from the shadows wouldn’t be able to slip past them and stab them in the back.

“Come on, you bastard,” Janine whispered under her breath, her eyes darting about.

They reached the place where the tunnel opened into the cul-de-sac and stood there for several moments. Either the kobolds were waiting for them to be dumb enough to come inside and break their line of defense or there weren’t any kobolds at all.

After a short forever, Azure dropped his buckler. “I think I’m willing to risk it.” He stared at the small chest greedily.

“I don’t want it. It’s all yours.” Janine continued to keep her guard up, ready to counter against whatever invisible enemies might be around.

Azure knelt next to the chest. It was no bigger than a shoebox, and he had no idea what he should expect to find inside. More minimal than any chest he had seen before, the wood holding it together was cracked and warped. The lock on the front was broken and tilted to the side as if someone else had gotten to it first.

Worrying it might be a baby mimic, Azure drew his Black Dagger, using the tip to flip open the lid. After that last encounter, he’d never look at chests the same way again.

Inside the box sat a piece of torn parchment. Azure gave it a queer look before finally reaching in to collect the item.

You have received the following item:

Torn Spell Scroll

Uses: Junk

"Oh, come on!" He tossed the scroll back into the box. Seriously? Who in the hell put a junk item in a chest? It just didn't make sense.

"What is it?" Janine looked over his shoulder.

"It's a torn spell scroll." Azure shook his head as he stood. "Junk."

"Then this is probably a trap." She put her back to the chest, facing the tunnel and raising her weapon. The way she shifted her weight continuously from one foot to the other reminded Azure of a boxer.

"You'd figure you could just tape it or some shit." Ignoring Janine's concern, he kept staring down at the scroll. The disappointment that Azure felt was insurmountable.

"Maybe the magic leaks out of them when they're torn," Janine guessed, never taking her eyes off of the tunnel.

"Who knows. Whatever the case, it's not fixable. From what I understand, anything that comes up as junk is just that. Let's go." He brushed past her, ready to waylay into anything that stood in his way. Azure didn't care if Janine was the one who needed experience, he was pissed and needed to blow off steam.

Nothing jumped out at them from the shadows. No ambush ever came. The whole experience of getting to the end of the tunnel was completely lackluster, and the walk back to the stairs was equally as dull.

This time, Uden and Lonnell were waiting for them, both looking pretty well beaten up. Uden's Health was down by more than half, and he was covered in cuts and bruises. Lonnell seemed to have fared better. Or rather, healed up whatever damage had been done to him. There were blood splatters on his armor, and the places where it had been torn aware revealed scabbed flesh.

"Are you guys all right?" Janine quickened her pace as they approached.

"Yeah, we're fine." Uden waved her concern away.

"We found the stairs. They were being guarded by two kobold adepts. Of course, we didn't realize that until it was too late." Lonnell frowned.

Azure pulled one of his Poor Quality Potions of Minor Healing from his bag and tossed it to Uden. "Here." While he still wasn't happy with the half-imp, he wasn't about to let him die when they'd gone to such lengths to bring him back to life. "I'm sure you can spare one, too," he said to Lonnell.

"I already spared one." Lonnell gave his brother a stern look that Azure didn't quite understand. "This is what he gets for coming unprepared."

"Dude! I saw you make like...fifty potions last night. Don't be so stingy." Azure cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, brother. Don't be so stingy!" Uden chastized Lonnell, but there was humor in his expression.

"No more handouts for you. I've been giving you handouts your entire life." Lonnell flattened his palm and made a swiping motion.

"We're in a dungeon," Azure reminded him.

"And he has all of us." Lonnell gestured to encompass the rest of the party. "Healing potions don't grow on trees."

Well, technically then do, if you think about it. Plants, really. Azure didn't dare give voice to his criticism though.

"If he dies again, it's on you." Azure threw his hand out.

"I won't let him die," Lonnell insisted. "He has too much to pay me back for."

"Wait. He's died before?" Janine pointed at Uden.

"How does it feel to know that you're a necrophiliac?" The half-imp waggled his eyebrows at her.

"He died in the first dungeon we went in together," Azure confessed. "We found a magic item to bring him back. We...weren't supposed to use it for that, so please pretend like you heard nothing."

The dwarf was already lost in her own world. "Maybe I could find something like that...in case my son isn't okay."

"It was a one of a kind item," Lonnell informed her. "I'm afraid there's nothing else like it in all of The Realm."

"You don't know that," Azure argued. "There could be other resurrection items. I don't see why there wouldn't be."

"Well, finding them isn't our focus right now. Finishing this dungeon is. We've already wasted a lot of time. I think we should move on to the next level." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"We can at least descend," Azure agreed. "Then we'll figure out how to tackle things from there. Sound good?" he asked the other two.

They both nodded.

Uden stood, and they headed back down the last tunnel, stepping over the few kobold bodies that lay in their path.

It only took them an hour to reach the next set of stairs. As they descended, the tunnel seemed to widen, accommodating all four of them walking side by side. They hadn't even reached the bottom before two kobolds came into view. This tunnel was incredibly short compared to all the ones before it, ending at a crude wooden door about twenty yards down. The kobolds stood sentinel, not moving from the door until the Adventurers reached the bottom of the stairs. Then they attacked.

Azure activated Analyze to get a measure of the threat, not fearing much. More than likely, Uden and Janine could handle it on their own.

Level 13 Kobold Guard.

Level 11 Kobold Guard.

Nevermind.

He rushed down the stairs to join in, brandishing his club. The space was tight, so fanning out wasn't much of an option. Uden somehow slipped between the two kobolds, managing to get behind them and backstab one. Thankfully, all they had for weapons were their paws, so the Adventurers didn't have to worry about any flailing blades except for their own.

Azure gave Janine a wide berth. She never seemed very careful with her ax when others were around.

Lonnell smacked the higher-level kobold in the nose with the butt of his staff when it rushed forward to attack. Its eyes rolled, dazed from the cheap shot. Azure took the opportunity to uppercut it with his club, sending the kobold flying back.

A few feet away, Janine was hacking at the other kobold's appendages while Uden kept darting in to stab it in the back.

For as intense as the battle had been when it first began, it was over quickly. Lonnell jabbed the higher level kobold in the throat with the butt of his staff, and Azure finished it off by caving in its skull.

Defeated Level 13 Kobold Guard. 30XP rewarded.

“Well, that was a bit unexpected.” Azure exhaled deeply, even though he was barely winded from the fight.

“Not anywhere near as difficult as it should have been,” Lonnell said. “If they really wanted to guard that door, they should have put the ones that can cast Invisible in front of it. Whatever the case, I’m willing to bet that the boss is inside.”

“You’re probably right.” Azure nodded, staring at the door for a moment before turning back to the party. Let’s loot these and move on.”

Janine flipped open her bestiary and rattled off a list of items that could be harvested from the kobolds. There were twelve in all. Uden suggested they take the time to butcher the entire corpses, but the rest of the party just wanted to get out of the dungeon, so they settled on the most easily accessible bits.

You have received the following items:

Kobold Guard Fang

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.3 kg

Uses: Crafting.

Kobold Guard Pelt

Item Class: Rare

Quality: High

Weight: 3.5 kg

Uses: Crafting.

A rare item. Azure hoped that meant it would be worth more. This was mostly all about the money for him, after all. And up to this point, with allowing Janine and Uden to kill almost everything, he didn’t feel like he’d collected enough loot to earn much.

When they were done looting their kills, they reconvened before the door. As if to tell them they were in the right place, they heard a woman’s voice coming from inside. She sounded like she was pleading.

“You guys ready?” Azure asked, looking to his comrades.

“I could do with a bit more Health.” Uden glanced from Lonnell to Azure.

“You didn’t lose any in that last fight.” Lonnell scowled at him. “Stop begging. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m not begging,” the half-imp grumbled.

“The three of us in the front. You in the back.” Azure pointed to Uden. It was important to keep him safe since he wasn’t in the best shape.

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes before taking a few steps back to allow Janine to fill in his place.

“On the count of three.” Azure kept an eye on Uden as he counted down. Had the two of them been alone, the half-imp likely would have rushed in before the count ended. He was brazen and irrational like that. In a full party, they had him pretty well under control, though.

On three, Azure pushed the door open, and the Adventurers flooded the room, weapons brandished. They barely had time to get the lay of the land before the skirmish began. The room itself was the size of a warehouse with plenty of empty space for melee. A throne made out of bones decorated the very back with the largest kobold Azure had ever seen sitting atop it, clearly the boss. A few yards to the right was a crude wooden cage with a woman inside. She clutched at the bars, her face lighting up with hope as soon as the party entered. About ten feet away from her, two smaller kobolds tended to a fire, that of which blessedly illuminated most of the room and made it unnecessary for the Adventurers to cling to their torches. On both sides of the throne, a kobold guard stood, protecting their king. As soon as the door had opened, they left his side to engage the threat.

Azure focused only on the boss, loosing an arrow straight at his head. The kobold bent his neck and dodged, then roared furiously. Janine, Lonnell, and Uden rushed forward to match against the two guards. Only the kobolds that had been tending the fire seemed apprehensive to join the fray. At least, that's what it had looked like to Azure as they both took a few steps back before disappearing.

Shit. It's the invisible ones. Azure hadn't even had time to Analyze them. At present, they seemed like the biggest threats in the room...until he took the time to Analyze everything else.

Level 11 Kobold Guard.

Level 11 Kobold Guard.

Level 15 Kobold Leader.

He was pretty sure that the other two had been adepts, but there was no way to tell for certain without Analyzing them. Whatever the case, with their sheer numbers combined, the odds were slightly tipped on the kobolds' side thanks to that invisibility spell.

Already, Azure was regretting not coughing up the extra healing potions for Uden. A few swipes by the invisible kobolds and he'd be done for. As it was, he was smartly staying safely back, throwing daggers at the kobold that Lonnell was directly engaged with, hyperaware of the threat that loomed in the shadows.

The leader was stomping toward them. Azure needed to make a quick decision. Which was more important, going head to head with the one opponent that clearly out-leveled all of them, or slowing down an invisible threat that could put a quick end to Uden?

Thankfully, none of his companions had their back to the leader. If need be, they could run.

Azure decided that breaking the other kobolds' invisibility was imperative to Uden's survival, so he twisted in the direction they had been standing and cast Grease, making sure not to overshoot and hit the fire. That would be bad.

The globs of oil that came from his hand coated one of the invisible kobolds, but his caution of the fire made him shoot short, and the other managed to evade being hit. It was the best he could do for now, he thought with a bit of disappointment, putting an arrow in the now grease-drenched kobold. Somehow, the first shot didn't down the creature. It clutched at the arrow in its chest before a second came to rest by its side, vanquishing the kobold.

Defeated Level 10 Kobold Adept. 80XP rewarded.

By that time, the leader had reached the rest of the group. Lonnell and Uden had defeated their foe, and the kobold fighting Janine seemed to be struggling to stay alive.

The leader swung its paws wildly at Lonnell, causing him to block with his staff. He dug his feet into the dirt, placing himself between the kobold and Uden. Uden tried to sneak over to the leader's side but was caught off-guard by a paw appearing from the void to knock him to the ground.

Shit. Of course, it would go after him.

The half-imp’s Health dropped by nearly 50%, and Azure once again cursed himself for not giving Uden another healing potion. For as much as he’d bitched at Lonnell, he had plenty to spare too.

Azure quickly cast Woodlfesh on himself, then traded in his bow for his Bergen’s Glaive. Even though it gave him amazing stat boosts, he just didn’t feel like the Gnollish Club would cut it in this battle. The kobold leader was at least a foot taller than he was. Stick it with the pointy end seemed to be a better strategy than smash it over the head.

“Protect Uden,” Azure yelled to Lonnell as he shouldered his way to the front line, meeting the kobold leader with the edge of his blade just as the creature swiped down to attack. Its paw sunk into the metal, and it instantly drew back with a roar.

Not as easy as beating against that staff, is it? He thought smugly, though he had almost lost his grip on his sword from the power of the blow.

Janine charged in from the side with her ax, a battle cry bellowing from her throat. Apparently, the adrenaline from slaying her previous foe had given her a boost of confidence and energy. Unfortunately, the noise caught the kobold leader's attention long before she reached it. It sent her sailing with an easy backhand, shaving off a quarter of her Health in the process.

The momentary distraction allowed Azure to step in and plunge his sword into the kobold’s stomach. He hoped for a critical hit, but no notification came up to indicate such. This particular kobold seemed to have super tough skin. The tip of the blade only went in about an inch before the kobold stepped back and returned its attention to the front.

“Shit,” Azure cursed between clenched teeth as the creature rushed forward with another barrage of swings. It took all of his strength not to fall over from the heavy blows, let alone guard against them. The kobold seemed to have no qualms cutting itself up on Azure’s sword to try to get to him.

Janine had recovered, and not having learned her lesson the first time, charged in again with another yell of adrenaline. This time, when the kobold tried to swat her away like a mere annoyance, she ducked and swung her ax to the side, burying the edge deep into the kobold’s hip.

“Nice,” Azure praised her, knowing there would be a small window for him to attack.

He held his hand out and cast Dirty Move, blasting the kobold in the eyes.

The creature roared again, blinking rapidly as it looked from side to side, clearly blind. Janine pulled her ax from its hip and started hacking away with her usual vigor. Ten seconds was all the two of them needed to down the beast, Azure ending it by forcing the tip of his blade into the stubborn chest cavity and putting all of his weight behind running it through. A bit overconfident and refusing to let go, just in case, he succumbed to the kobold leader’s flailing, taking a hit in the head before the creature finally stopped struggling and fell to its knees.

Level 15 Kobold Leader delivers 75 damage.

Azure's ears were ringing and he was far more exhausted than he'd expected to be, but the job was done.

Defeated Level 15 Kobold Leader. 150XP rewarded.

"Fuck's sake, Azure. Couldn't you have at least let me get a hit in? I needed that experience," Uden complained from several yards away.

The other adept had managed to land another hit on him before Lonnell had been able to take it out. Hunched over with his hands on his knees and bleeding profusely from several claw marks littered across his body, the half-imp didn't look in any condition to fight anything.

"You snooze, you lose," Azure said with all of the gusto of a cocky anime protagonist.

"Here, drink these." Lonnell was now being a lot more generous with his potions, tending to Uden with all of the care of a concerned brother.

"We did it, guys!" Azure threw his hands up proudly. And no one died. That was another huge success in his book.

Janine seemed less in the mood for celebrating, already heading over to the cage to free Jasmeen. The woman clung to the dwarf’s side, muttering thanks to them all and prattling on about how horrible her experience had been. Apparently, the kobolds had planned to cook and serve her to their leader that very night.

A glance at Jasmeen’s belly revealed why Lord Blakemore had put such a high price on her rescue. She was pregnant.

“Bet it’s his,” Uden whispered as soon as he was well enough to hobble over to Azure.

“I wouldn’t bet against you.”

Jasmeen was a dark-skinned beauty. Young and buxom with full lips and raven curls that framed her face. Azure was pretty sure that all of the men in the room were attracted to her.

“You’ll be all right now,” he told her as they watched the wall behind the throne fall away to reveal a way to the surface.

She thanked him in a French accent but remained clinging to Janine’s side as if she was afraid to touch any of the men.

“Does your bestiary have bosses in it?” Azure asked Janine.

She pulled the book from her Bag of Holding, flipped through it for a few moments, and then shut it with a shrug. “I imagine you can get the same things from it as you would the other kobolds.”

“It might have a monster core,” Uden suggested.

Azure had already forgotten about those. Not since the dawnflayer had it been mentioned to him again. And this didn’t seem like a particularly unique monster.

“I wouldn’t even know what that would look like,” he admitted.

“I do. But if I go through all of the trouble, then it’s mine,” the half-imp said greedily.

“You didn’t even get to touch it.” Azure gestured to the body, then turned his attention to Janine. “Want to split the parts?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Are we just going through the easy ones? It might be worth it to butcher the whole thing, since it’s a bigger monster. But that’s up to you. I don’t really need the money.”

He scratched his cheek, not really feeling like doing the work. Azure still had the dirty business of looting the kobold adept covered in grease. For that, he’d definitely use his Loot Automizer Pendant. Had this been a solo kill for him, he’d use the pendant on the kobold leader as well, but he and Lonnell and Janine all deserved a portion.

“What do you think?” he asked Lonnell.

“It’s his first dungeon since being back. I think we should let him have the core.” Lonnell smiled fondly at his brother.

“Fine,” Azure relented with a backward wave of his hand. “I didn’t want to deal with dissecting it anyway. As long as Janine is fine with it, he can have it.”

The dwarf shook her head at the kobold’s body as she petted Jasmeen’s hand soothingly.

“Much yes!” Uden said excitedly, pulling out his dagger and getting to work.

Azure walked over to the edge of the grease puddle and pointed his Loot Automizer Pendant down at the body, ending up with another Kobolt Adept Ear.

“Disappointing,” he frowned at the loot.

Though it wasn’t anywhere near as disappointing as Uden going through all of the work to extract the monster core only to find out that there wasn’t one.

“Well, that was a load of crap.” He scowled as he sat amidst the kobold leader’s entrails. “You guys can have the rest.” The half-imp stood and scoffed down at the corpse.

“Nope. That’s all yours,” Azure told him, not wanting to get his hands dirty. “Your reward for surviving your first dungeon.” A smirk crept across his face.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

THE REALM – Day 87

Feeling like Jasmeen’s comforting protector, Janine didn’t part from the group to kill things after they left the burrow. Uden ventured out every once in a while, but they still made better time than they had on their way there, reaching Squall’s End a little after nightfall.

Once they arrived, Janine ushered Jasmeen to her room for the night, not emerging again. Meanwhile, the guys had rent to worry about. The lease on their room had expired, and it was time for Azure to make the decision he’d been mulling over since he was first able to afford rent on his own.

“Give me your share, and I’ll pay the innkeeper,” Lonnell told him, holding out his hand.

Azure just stared at it for several seconds, doing calculations in his head. Currently, he had 32 gold. Once they turned in their quest tomorrow, he’d have 5 more. Plus, he had loot to trade in, which would only increase his overall amount.

Then again, now that he owned a bedroll, sleeping on the floor wasn’t as big of a deal. The question was, did he want to continue rooming with the two brothers or go his own way. It would be nice not to be woken up in the middle of the night when they came in late from a quest or have Lonnell wake him up earlier in the morning than he would have liked. Independence sounded sweet right now.

“You know what? I think I’m going to get my own room.”

“Ohhh, can I room with you instead? He’s no fun.” Uden stepped up next to Azure but thumbed toward his brother.

Azure looked over at him. “That would defeat the purpose of it being my own room,” he made sure to enunciate that last bit.

The half-imp frowned.

“It’s a waste of money,” Lonnell argued. “That is what you and I are both trying to do, isn’t it? To save money.”

“Some things are worth spending on. Besides, I’m not sure it’s worth purchasing a whole month when I think of all the nights we all spent out.”

“That’s why splitting it makes things more cost efficient. I’m sure there was rarely a time when the room sat empty all night.”

“I doubt that.” Azure thought back to when Uden was busy with his prerequisite quest and they were in the dungeon of Digby Mansion. Hell, they had all just been questing and wasted the past few nights leaving the room empty. “No. I think I’m going to try just buying a night at a time for a while.”

Lonnell shook his head. “You’re being foolish and impractical.”

“Be that as it may, that’s my choice.”

They went to the innkeeper and paid up. Lonnell purchased another month for himself and Uden, and Azure parted with 8 silver for two nights. It did seem a bit steep, and maybe he’d grow to regret his decision. There was only one way to find out, though.

As soon as he was in his room alone, any fear of making a mistake disappeared. Azure shrugged off his clothes and enjoyed his privacy. It was so rare that he actually got to strip down. Not having to worry about someone walking in on him was almost better than any loot.

The silence wasn’t enjoyed for long though, as there was a knock on his door. Cracking it open, Azure found Uden on the other side.

“Are you naked?” The half-imp’s gaze shamelessly drifted down, even though Azure’s body was mostly concealed by the door.

“What do you want?” he barked, shortening the gap a bit more.

Uden quirked his head back and frowned. “Jeez! You sound like you hate me. I just came to see if you wanted to grab a drink in the tavern, but fuck all if I want to hang out with you in such a piss poor mood.”

Azure’s face relaxed, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sorry, man. Not tonight. After being cooped up with you three for the past few days, I’d rather enjoy my privacy than alcohol.”

“I can see that.” Uden looked him up and down again. “Perhaps tomorrow then.”

“Maybe.”

He shut the door and went back to relaxing, praying that there were no more interruptions to his peace.

Lonnell still came to wake Azure the next morning, but he was fine with it. The earlier they got to The Adventurers Guild, the less of a line there would be. Unfortunately, meeting up with Janine and Jasmeen in the tavern in the morning put them a bit later than any of them would have liked. After waiting for thirty minutes past the opening of The Adventurers Guild, Azure was sent to retrieve the ladies from Janine’s room. Neither of them seemed to be in any hurry to get the day started.

The line was five people deep when they finally arrived, so they had to wait a while before Uden could claim the prize for the quest. Azure stood back so that he wasn’t further crowding up the line. He had no plans to pick up another quest anyway. Instead, he scanned over the Open Quests board to waste time. To his surprise, he noticed a familiar quest with some changes.

Adventurer's Guild Quest: Defeat The Bower Boys

Outlaw James Bower has brought his despicable Bower Boys to Squall's End. They've been robbing people along the various roads leading into the city. These menaces need to be dealt with...permanently. Find them, kill them, and bring James Bower's severed head to The Adventurer’s Guild as proof that the deed is done.

Designation: D

Type: Bounty

Difficulty: Very Hard

Requirements: Character Level 40

One-Handed or Two-Handed Weapons Skill Level 47

Agility 44

Deadline: 7 days

Success: Kill all 6 members of The Bower Boys

Failure: Cancel quest

Reward: 8 gold, 8 silver

Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

The designation had been lowered from a C to a D. The requirements and reward had been reduced as well. It looked like one of the Bower Boys had eaten it when some band of brave Adventurers decided to take the quest last. These guys must be pretty hardcore. The same quest had been posted at The Adventurers Guild ever since Azure had joined. He'd seen the quest disappear and reappear a few times, but no one had made a dent in it yet.

Azure was distracted by a notification that popped up.

Congratulations! Quest: Captured by Kobolds has been completed.

You entered the kobold den unafraid and rescued a damsel in distress. Lord Blakemore will be forever grateful for the return of his beloved servant. You have been awarded 420XP.

No other rewards? Where's the money? Azure looked toward his friends in alarm. Mel had placed a stack of coins in front of Uden, and he was currently collecting them. As soon as the half-imp had the loot in hand, he stepped off to the side where Azure joined him. Lonnell and Janine remained in line, picking up more quests.

“Here.” Uden offered Azure his share. Since the coin didn’t divide equally between four, he kept the extra for himself.

“Did you pick up another quest?” Azure asked

“No. I’m going to Hawking’s with you once we trade our loot in at the market.”

“Oh? 5 gold isn’t going to get you very far. You have to buy the Elvish language book first. And if you want to save money and take an entire semester of land magic, then it’s going to be over 10 gold.”

“Land magic, bleck. That shit’s boring. I want necromancy. And besides, I already know Elvish, so that’s one less expense,” the words fell from Uden’s mouth with distaste.

Azure smirked. “No necromancy for you. Not from Hawking’s, at least. From what I understand, necromancy is only taught in The Deathlands.”

The half-imp quirked his head back. “Well, isn’t that a load of crap.” He paused for a moment. “Still, land magic is just about the last type of magic I’m interested in learning.”

“That’s too bad. You have to take a land magic class at Hawking’s first before they’ll let you learn anything else.” It was a bullshit policy, but it was still there.

“I knew that. Best to get it out of the way now so that I can start learning the stuff I’m actually interested in.” Uden kept his eye on Lonnell, who was now rolling up his quest paper and placing it in his Bag of Holding as he approached.

“Which is?”

“Fire or battle magic.” He dished out his brother’s share of the coin as soon as he arrived.

“You should consider enchanting. It’s been incredibly useful to me so far.”

“Which is apparent by the fact that you did not once use it when we were in the dungeon. Enchanting is for pussies,” Uden told him pointedly.

“You learned how to imbue arrows, and you don’t even use a bow.” Azure scowled at him.

The half-imp shrugged. “I bought whatever Ruthren had for sale when I had the coin.”

“Speaking of which...” He shifted his weight. “Before you died, he had acquired a necromancer spell for you. Steal, it was. Looked right up your ally.”

“Well, shit. I wonder where he’s at now...and if he’s sold it already.” Uden frowned.

“Probably. That was a while ago. And he came to your burial, so I can only assume he didn’t bother saving it back.”

“Have you seen him around lately?” The half-imp held onto hope.

“I’m afraid not. Not since coming here. He came over on the ship with us,” Lonnell informed him.

“Well, I suppose I can’t be mad if he sold the spell. Being dead and all...” He perked up a bit. “I suppose it doesn’t matter anyway. I plan to become a Grand Master Mage someday. That means a trip to The Deathlands will eventually be in order.”

“A trip to all of the magic schools.” Azure thought about how each school only carried novice spells unless they specialized in that type of magic. “You can stay parked here for a while, though. This is the only place you can master land magic. Whether you care for it or not, that would probably be your smartest course of action before moving on to another school.”

“I’ll be sticking around for a while. At least until I master all of the novice spells. Besides, I have to make sure this asshole gets settled down before I leave.” The half-imp threw an arm over his brother’s shoulder.

“I suppose we’re all about good to go now?” Janine walked up with Jasmeen by her side.

Uden handed her the rest of the coins while Azure addressed her. “I thought she was staying with The Adventurers Guild.” He regarded the servant.

“I just took the Miscellaneous quest to return her home,” the dwarf informed them.

“I wonder why I wasn’t offered that one?” Lonnell knitted his brow.

“I insisted that it should be Miss Cossey,” Jasmeen said, standing a bit too close to Janine.

“I thought you only took Monster quests,” Azure commented.

“How could I refuse this poor woman?” Janine patted Jasmeen’s hand where it rested on her arm.

“You two look like the oddest lesbian couple ever,” Uden didn’t bother to mince words.

Janine scowled at him, and Azure chuckled.

“Well, we should probably all get going. Daylight is burning.” Lonnell’s gaze traveled to the door.

“True.” Uden sighed. “Though closer than most things around here, Hawking’s is still a pretty good walk.”

“We won’t have to walk,” Azure told him.

“Why won’t we have to walk? Do you have Teleportation Prisms or something?” Uden gave him a queer look.

He smiled. “I think your opinion on enchanting will be changing very soon.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

THE REALM – Day 88

Janine and Jasmeen parted ways with the men, heading out of Squall's End, while the rest of the party went to the town square to sell their loot. Azure received 3 gold, 6 silver, and 1 copper for his share, which didn't seem like a whole lot considering how much money he'd made from his previous Bounty quests. Of course, Uden banked since he'd collected the most kills next to Janine. That's why everything felt so unbalanced. Without slaying a bunch of foes, there hadn't been much for Azure to loot.

Once they were done at the town square, Lonnell left them to begin his new quest, and Azure dragged Uden to the smithy to have his Loot Automizer Pendant repaired. Garion seemed to be intrigued by yet cautious of the half-imp, keeping one eye on him while he fixed Azure's pendant. It made the blacksmith work a bit more slowly, which agitated Azure, but at least they weren't on a time crunch today.

When that was done, they headed to the entrance of Squall's End. Once they were a little bit outside, Azure summoned Flicker.

“See. Enchanting isn't useless after all,” he told Uden with a smile.

“I never said it was useless. I said it was for pussies,” the half-imp quickly corrected him. “Too bad you can't summon more than one at once. It would make things much easier for when the four of us go questing together.”

Azure approached the horse, wondering if he should make her lie down for them. Admittedly, he hadn't practiced mounting her like he had planned. Now he was in an embarrassing situation. What would be worse, trying to mount her while she was standing and have the half-imp laugh at him, or having her lie down...and still have Uden laugh at him? There was probably no winning this one.

“That's why you should learn this spell, too.” Azure grabbed Flicker by the mane and tried to swing his hips over her back. Sheer fear of being made fun of caused him to put more energy behind the action than he probably would have otherwise. The effort was lost, though. He couldn't get his leg over.

Surprisingly, the half-imp didn't even chuckle. Azure did his best to ignore his presence and tried again to the same effect.

“Have you ever ridden it before?” Uden asked incredulously.

“Yes, I have.” Azure turned to him with a sigh, surrendering to the fact that he sucked at this. “But I usually make her lie down first.”

That got a small laugh from the half-imp.

“Would you like to try?” Azure gestured to Flicker's back. No doubt, Uden would quickly show him up.

“Nope.” He shook his head. “This is far too entertaining. By all means, keep going.”

Azure's entire body slumped for a moment. Of course, the half-imp was going to have a field day with this. “I'll take whatever pointers you have.”

He held his palms up. “I've got nothing. Maybe use some more momentum...like a running jump...from the side.”

Azure narrowed his eyes. “Do you mean to tell me that you’ve never ridden a horse before?”

“Only once,” Uden confessed. “And not without a saddle. I know little about horses besides how to steal them.”

He quirked his head back. “How do you know how to steal them if you can’t even ride them?”

“Open the pen. Slap them on the ass to scare them out. Got to be careful doing that, though. I got kicked once.” The half-imp rubbed an invisible wound on his left thigh.

Azure rolled his eyes. “Of course, you did.”

Maybe approaching from the side was a better strategy. He could throw his torso over, then hopefully crawl up the rest of the way.

Deciding that it didn’t hurt to try, Azure gave it a go. He was barely able to get over Flicker’s back, but he had the same problem he had experienced on the ground. His leg just couldn’t gain the height needed to mount her. After his third attempt and failure, Azure’s frustration was too high.

“You try.” He gestured angrily at the horse.

Watching Uden try and fail was kind of amusing. Well, at least the first time. Showing more flexibility than Azure, he was able to kick his leg over the second time around and sit upright.

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” The half-imp smirked down at his friend. “I suppose I could leave you here now if I wanted to.” He gazed forward into the distance.

Seconds later, Uden was hitting the dirt hard after Azure gave Flicker the mental command to buck him off. Now he was the one smiling.

“What in the fuck is wrong with that beast?!” The half-imp glared at Flicker.

“There’s nothing wrong with her. I’m done with this though. We’re just wasting time.” He didn’t bother helping Uden up. The guy was an asshole, and Azure fully believed that he would have left him behind. Again. Instead, Azure commanded Flicker to lie down so he could easily mount her. Then he made her stand again. “Here. I’ll help you up.” Azure offered Uden his hand.

Getting them both on the horse seemed even more challenging than just getting one of them on. And once Uden was finally on Flicker, things got even more awkward as the two men were pressed together back to front.

“I don’t like this,” Azure mumbled as he commanded the horse to start walking.

“I think it’s rather comfortable,” Uden whispered into his ear with playful seduction, reaching his arms around Azure’s waist.

“Do you have to hold onto me like that?” He threw back.

“I lied about it being comfortable. Now that we’re moving, I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to work. I’m already starting to slip.” His grip tightened, the humor leaving his voice.

A few more steps, and they both went over the side of the horse thanks to Uden refusing to let go when he fell.

The enchantment broke, Flicker disappeared, and Azure simply laid there on the side of the road, staring up at the cloudy sky, cursing the heavens.

“I think you’ll have to get your own horse,” he told the half-imp when he was finally able to motivate himself to move.

“Probably a good idea,” Uden agreed, groaning as he pulled himself up from the ground. “So I guess this means we’re walking after all.”

“Guess so.”

They dusted themselves off and trekked the distance, taking their time now that they were both bruised up from falling so much. Azure foraged along the way, something that Uden seemed much less interested in. Alchemy components were few and far between along the main road thanks to having mostly been picked clean already. Still, the little bit of Foraging that Azure was able to do was enough to level up the skill.

Congratulations! The skill: Foraging has reached Level 12. Plants collected through foraging have a variety of uses. You can sell them, consume them, or use them to create potions through alchemy.

They reached Hawking’s a little before noon, and Azure introduced Uden to the moody receptionist. He wasn’t able to get an appointment with Mareike until the following day, but Elise would be available to recruit the half-imp after a few hours, so they waited. With nothing better to do, Azure gave Uden a tour of what he’d seen of the school so far, showing him the store and the library before introducing him to Cheryl.

Her ears perked up as they approached, and she took a step away from her desk. A panicked bleat escaped her throat, and she suddenly dashed off, running for the door. All who were in the library turned in their direction.

“What was that about?” Azure asked.

Uden sighed. “She’s a forestborne.”

He jerked his head back slightly. “I’m surprised you knew.”

“She also knows what I am.” The half-imp gave him a sideways look.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Deerkin like her are often prey for monsters. They have an innate ability to sense creatures with dark affinities. More than likely, she sensed the imp in me and took flight, seeing me as a predator to her species.”

“Oh.” Azure blinked a few times. “Well, that could be a problem.”

“Too bad they don't have her manning the store instead. Then I could rob the place blind.” He smirked.

“Uden!” Azure chastised him. “I thought you were serious about becoming a Grand Master Mage. That will never happen if you get kicked out of magic school.”

“There are other magic schools besides Hawking's.” The half-imp shrugged. “I can learn the basics of magic at any of them. Getting kicked out at one probably won't make them bar me from attending another.”

“You never know. Regardless, it's not worth it.”

They browsed the bookshelves for a while until Miss Ogden marched in. Cheryl stood at the entrance, pointing around the corner at them as if she feared that Uden would attack at any moment. The two exchanged words, and then Miss Ogden approached.

“This doesn't look good,” Azure muttered under his breath before she got to them.

Ignoring him completely, she looked directly at Uden and barked, “Credentials.”

“I’m not sure what Cheryl told you, but he’s no threat.” Azure stood up for his friend.

It was like he wasn’t even there.

“Credentials,” she said again before pushing her glasses up onto her nose. For not having any reason, Miss Ogden looked angry.

“Of course,” Uden told her politely, and Azure could only assume that they partied up immediately afterward. “I assure you that I'm mostly human.”

“You look human.” She raked him with her gaze before taking a step closer. The half-imp stiffened as the receptionist leaned in to sniff him. “Smell human.” Finally, she reached out and grabbed his arm, pressing her fingers into his skin. “Feel human.”

If the situation wasn’t so serious, Azure might have chuckled. This was awkward as fuck.

“Mostly human.” Miss Ogden nodded before turning back to Cheryl. “Cheryl, it’s okay. He won’t attack you here.” She gave Uden a quick pointed look as if asking more than saying.

“I just came to attend magic school. Nothing more.” The half-imp held his palms up in surrender.

Despite the receptionist confirming that Uden wasn’t a threat, the deerkin refused to enter the room. She’d look at Uden, then shake her head as if even seeing him hurt, disappear back behind the wall, only for her head to peek around it again moments later.

Miss Ogden sighed. “I’m so sorry about this.”

“It’s quite all right,” Uden told her. “I’m sure that I’m just as uncommon to her as she is to me.”

“She’ll come around with time, I’m sure.” The receptionist patted the half-imp on the shoulder. “But for now, would you mind leaving the library. You are not a student here yet, and I really can’t afford to be away from my desk for long. Once you enroll, we’ll work on setting up a mediation of some sort to get her used to you.”

“I understand, and that would be much appreciated.” Uden smiled.

Cheryl gave them a wide berth as they departed from the library—so wide that she left the school until they were gone, then she slipped back in like a cat trying to sneak around a corner. While Azure wanted to feel bad for her irrational fear of Uden, he couldn’t help but be amused by it. She reminded him of nature shows he had seen where a prey animal knew it was being stalked by a predator. Except Uden wasn’t stalking her at all.

As if trumping his thoughts, the half-imp murmured, “I bet she’d taste delicious.”

“Uden!” Azure furrowed his brow at his friend.

“What? Man’s gotta eat.” The half-imp chuckled.

“Not appropriate.”

Good God, it was like babysitting a kid sometimes.

They sat on the grass outside of the school and waited. Time passed slowly with nothing to do, and Azure was beginning to wonder if he should go off to forage, though it would be quite the walk thanks to the magical barrier protecting the forest around the school. In the end, he was just too lazy.

About an hour later, Uden was finally called back. Azure thought to return to the library and check on Cheryl, hoping she didn’t associate him with the threat. It would be awkward if she tried to run whenever he entered the library. Hopefully, she was smart enough to differentiate the two. But Azure wasn’t sure if he had Uden’s scent on him since they’d tried to ride bareback together. That might be enough to drive her away.

By the time Azure had motivated himself to stand, Uden came around the corner, a deep scowl on his face.

“That was fast,” Azure noted. It hadn’t even been fifteen minutes.

“They won’t teach me,” Uden threw out, stomping past him and away from the school.

“What?” He turned and jogged a few paces to catch up.

The half-imp stopped suddenly, pivoting to the side and pointing at the school. It looked like he was pointing directly at Miss Ogden, who instantly looked up from her desk. “They fucking won’t teach me because I’m a half-imp!”

Azure quirked his head back. “Why? You’re not evil.”

“You tell them that. This is racial discrimination!” Uden crossed his arms over his chest.

He had almost forgotten that was a thing in this world.

For the first time in a while, Azure felt bad for the half-imp. All he had ever wanted was to become a mage. The guy could be bad sometimes, but Azure wouldn’t go as far as to say he was evil. There was still some good in him.

He frowned and shook his head. “I’ll go talk to her. You stay here.”

Leaving Uden behind, Azure marched up to Miss Ogden’s desk. “I need to go back and see Elise.”

“You’ll have to make an appointment,” she told him dryly.

“He didn’t even get his full time.” Azure gestured back to Uden.

“I’m sorry, but that’s the policy,” Miss Ogden told him.

He glanced back at his friend, wondering if he should schedule a meeting with Elise before his appointment with Mareike tomorrow. The half-imp was kicking at the grass, looking depressed. It wasn’t an emotion that Azure had ever associated with Uden before.

“No.” He turned back to Miss Ogden. “I’ll speak to her now.” Then he walked back to her office, not giving the receptionist a chance to stop him. Uden might not be a student, but Azure had paid good coin to attend this school. And besides, he knew that the land magic professor wasn’t busy. She’d make time to see him.

Elise was eating a sandwich when Azure got to her office. It was as if whatever had transpired between her and Uden hadn’t affected her at all. Just another day at work. Azure knocked on the doorframe to get her attention.

She lifted her head and coughed, then set down her sandwich and quickly took a drink of water from a cup on the corner of her desk. “Azure. What are you doing here? You don’t have an appointment.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for barging in like this, but the person who was just in here is a friend of mine, and I can assure you that he’s mostly human. I mean, I’m not sure if you can see racial percentages that I can’t, but I’ve been with him long enough to tell you that he is not evil,” he rattled out quickly in case Hawking’s had some guards that were about to retrieve him and escort him out of the building.

“You came back here for the half-imp?” She seemed surprised.

Azure nodded. “He doesn’t always do the right thing, but he’s a good person at heart and worthy of learning magic.”

Elise shook her head. “I’m sorry, Azure, but Hawking’s has a strict policy. We don’t teach monster races magic, even if they’re half-breeds. If the genetics are strong enough to manifest in his character sheet, then the darkness inside of him is too strong. Teaching someone like that magic could have dire consequences. Hawking’s isn’t willing to take on that liability.”

Everything she had said sounded ominous.

“Are you saying that if he was mostly human, the half-imp part wouldn’t have shown up in his character sheet?” He wasn’t quite sure why he was asking this. Azure had known from the beginning that Uden was equal parts imp and human. Perhaps his physical appearance had tricked Azure into believing otherwise.

“That is what I’m saying. Humans have neither a dark nor a light affinity. Imps only have a dark affinity. Mixing the two still makes him mostly evil. No school in all of The Realm would ever be willing to teach him magic.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

THE REALM – Day 88

“Come on.” Azure gestured for Uden to follow him back to Squall’s End. “We’re going to the tavern, and I’m going to pay for you to get hammer-smash-faced. And then we’re going to figure this out together.”

“I take it it didn’t go well.” The half-imp sulked beside him.

“There has to be a way to get you into magic school.” He shook his head, thinking as they walked.

“There is. I just have to keep trying different schools until one of them lets me in.” Only a hint of depression left his voice.

Azure felt bad for having to drop more bad news on him. “Elise said that no magic school would be willing to teach you.”

“I bet the one in The Deathlands would. Where do you think all the evil mages come from?” Uden raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“Maybe. Still, The Deathlands isn’t going to have beyond novice level of any of the other spells.”

“Piss on my dreams further, would you?” He scowled.

“I’m sorry, Uden. We’ll figure something out.”

A soft laugh left his lips, and a moment of silence followed. “You’re a good friend, you know. I give you shit all day long, and you’re still nice to me. Why?”

Azure glanced at him, thrown off by the sentimental tone of the half-imp’s voice. “Because you’re the closest thing I have to a brother here. You may be a dick, and I truly want to murder you sometimes...but despite all that, I’d prefer your company over Lonnell’s any day. At least you keep things interesting.”

“Aw. My little black heart.” Uden clutched at his chest. “You know, it really is black. I’m not just saying that. Did you see it when I disintegrated?”

Azure chuckled.

They joked as they walked back to Squall’s End, trying to keep the mood light. A veil of sadness hung around them, though. It seemed like adversity followed Uden every step of his life. Perhaps that’s why he placed so many points into Luck. He needed it to help counterbalance the discrimination he faced on a nearly daily basis. Whatever the case, it didn’t seem to be working. Even if the half-imp was partially evil, Azure wanted to make the world a fairer place for him. Uden did try to be good...probably more than any other half-imp ever had. It didn’t seem right that he was getting screwed out of opportunities afforded to everyone else.

Once they reached the tavern, Azure ordered them both a pint of beer.

Unsurprisingly taking advantage of his offer, Uden sucked his down before Azure was even a quarter of the way finished with his. It was clear that the half-imp was ready to drink his woes away.

“I’ll jus keep buyin’ black market spells from Ruthy,” Uden slurred when he was three beers in.

Azure was pretty sure that the merchant wouldn’t appreciate them talking about his secret wares so loudly. The mention of black market spells had a few eyes darting in their direction.

“It would probably take several lifetimes before he had every spell you’d need to become a Grand Master Mage,” Azure told him, keeping things real.

“Well aren’t you damned depressin company.” Uden sneered, slumping over the table.

When the barmaid walked back over and the half-imp tried to order again, Azure stopped him. “I think you’ve had enough.”

“I’ve had enough when I say I’ve had enough. And as long as yer buyin, it won’t be enough until I’m dead.” His head nearly hit the table from the drama of his words.

Azure ignored him, looking up at the barmaid. “He’s had enough.”

She smiled politely and went about her business checking on the other tavern patrons.

“Come on. Let’s get you up to bed.” Azure drained the rest of his beer, then stood to help Uden up.

He slung his arm over Azure’s shoulder lazily. “I wanna sleep in yer room tonight.”

Again, ignoring Uden, Azure lead him up to their room. “Give me your key.”

The half-imp paused, looking around. “This isn’t yer room.”

“No. It’s your room.” He refrained from sighing. “Now give me your key so I can let you in.”

“I don’t wanna.” Uden pouted.

The sigh finally escaped. “Don’t make me pat you down.”

A doofy grin lit up the half-imp’s face. “I might like that.”

“Of course, you would. I’m not playing, though. Give me your key.” Azure pulled himself from under Uden’s arm and opened and closed his hand.

With the self-control of a child, the half-imp’s whole body shook as he whined. “I don’t want Lonnell ta know. He’s goin ta be soooo disappointed in me.” Uden rested his forehead against the wall.

“He’s not going to be disappointed in you.” Azure pressed his lips together. “Look. Lonnell isn’t even here right now. He’ll probably be out all night on whatever quest he took.” He knocked on the door. Surely, if Lonnell was inside, he would have come just from hearing their voices.

“Please. I don’t want ta have ta explain this ta him when I’m drunk.” Uden slapped his palms together.

“That’s why you should go to sleep. You can explain it to him in the morning.” Azure’s frustration was beginning to build. Why did the half-imp always have to be such a pain in the ass? “I’m going to leave you here if you don’t give me your key.”

Uden simply stood there, his hands still in a begging gesture, his eyes glazed over as if he might pass out in the hallway at any second. When Azure walked past him to leave, the half-imp reanimated, clutching onto the back of his chainmail. “Please, brother. Please! Just for tonight. I’ll make Lonnell pay you for the room.”

How brotherly of you. Not even offering to pay for it yourself. Azure couldn't help but smirk. Even when he was wasted, Uden was still a natural dick.

Not saying anything, Azure continued to his room, and the half-imp stumbled after him. Part of him had hoped that Uden would have passed out in the hall. Of course, Azure wouldn't have just left him there. He wasn't that big of an asshole. No. He would have done the good friend thing, got into his pockets for the key, then carried him to his room.

But the half-imp hadn’t passed out. He leaned against the wall while Azure fished into his Bag of Holding for the key to his own room. Then he barged right in as soon as the door was open, throwing himself down onto Azure’s bed and immediately falling asleep.

Azure shook his head. “You are the little brother I never wanted.” Then he searched Uden’s pockets until he found the key. The half-imp didn’t even stir as Azure jostled him around, and he most certainly wasn’t being careful about it.

Azure sighed as he stood over Uden. The guy had definitely drawn a hard lot in life. Even though he was in a town where no one knew who he was, as soon as anyone discovered his heritage, they immediately disliked him. The Adventurers Guild had blatantly tried to get him killed on his prerequisite quest. Either that or scare him away. Hawking’s School of Land Magic clearly didn’t want him there. It seemed like there was no real place in this world for the half-imp.

Begrudging himself for feeling so much sympathy, Azure took Uden’s shoes off. Then he pulled the sheet over him, tucking him in, and left, heading to Lonnell’s room to sleep there for the night instead. If the elder brother did happen to return, Azure would bear the burden of explaining what had transpired at Hawking’s, even if it wasn’t his business to do so.

He knew that Lonnell wouldn’t be disappointed. Azure wasn’t sure why Uden was freaking out about it so much. Maybe just the heightened emotions and alcohol. Whatever the case, everything would be all right. The real question was, what would the half-imp do now that he couldn’t fulfill his dream of becoming a Grand Master Mage?

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

THE REALM – Day 89

Lonnell didn’t return that night, and Azure awoke to find Uden still sleeping in his bed. He let the half-imp lie and ventured off to Hawking’s, wondering what Uden would do when he did wake up. All he really could do was either wait for Lonnell to return or take a quest at The Adventurers Guild. Or disappear. If Azure feared anything, it was that Uden would go AWOL. There was nothing keeping him in Squall’s End now besides the companionship of his brother and friends. Somehow, Azure doubted that would be enough to tie the half-imp down.

Azure had a bit of time to kill, so he practiced trying to mount Flicker while standing for the first ten minutes that he had her summoned. By some miracle, he was able to get on her once using Uden’s method. Before losing the enchantment, he cast Summon Mount again and took off for his destination.

Mareike was drinking a cup of hot liquid when he entered her office. She seemed overly relaxed, her eyes not even moving up to acknowledge him until he was sitting in the seat across from her.

“Did you finish your quest?” she asked, practically choking on the beverage as if coming to life mid-drink.

“That’s why I’m here.” Azure took out his quest sheet and slid it across to her.

Mareike pulled it closer and searched for her stamp at the same time. It quickly became clear that multitasking wasn’t her strong suit when she knocked a stack of papers off of her desk. Part of Azure didn’t want to help her pick them up, but he knew that he’d only waste more time if he didn’t.

The stamp wasn’t on her desk. She spent another ten minutes searching drawers before finally finding it under her desk.

What is wrong with this woman? It took everything in Azure not to shake his head at her.

Finally, she stamped the word 'Complete' on his quest paper, and a notification popped up.

Congratulations! Magic School Quest: Thin Out the Gnolls has been completed.

Thanks to you, the gnoll guards will be bothering the people of Mightrest no longer. The threat is abated...for now. You have earned 280XP.

Azure liked the way the prompt said for now. That meant the same quest would likely pop up for someone else in the future.

“Here’s what you have left to learn.” Mareike slid three spell scrolls in front of Azure. There was only one in the pile that he hadn’t seen before.

Spell Scroll: Greasy Summon

Quantity: 1/1

Weight: 0.0 kg

Mana Cost: 20

Range: 6 feet

Cooldown: Ten Minutes

Magic Class: Enchanting

Uses: Summons a blob monster from a greasy surface that deals damage equivalent to the caster's base unarmed stats. Lasts for 3 minutes, then turns back into a greasy surface. You cannot have more than one summon at a time.

This one actually looked useful. It complemented the Grease spell he already knew, which means that if he used it frequently, it could help him level both his land magic and his enchanting at the same time. Choosing it as his next spell was a no-brainer.

“This one.” He tapped the scroll.

“You know the drill by now.” Mareike inhaled deeply as if she were bored, then turned to the wall and said her magic word.

Azure followed her into the secret room, going through the motions of absorbing the spell. Within a matter of minutes, the magic was a part of him.

Congratulations! You have learned the enchanting spell: Greasy Summon. Fighting is dirty business. Even the playing field by using the grime of battle to your advantage. Your familiar will fight for you until its health is depleted or three minutes have passed.

Sweet! Azure couldn’t wait to try out this spell. It would make fighting multiple enemies so much easier when he was questing alone.

He was chomping at the bit to get his new quest when they sat back down at Mareike’s desk. Of course, patience needed to be one of his virtues, because it took her forever to remember where she had put her quest papers.

“You know, it might help you a little if you keep your stuff in the same place all the time,” Azure suggested.

“Would it?” She gave him a vacant look. It seemed like she hadn’t even heard him as she pulled a quest paper from her stack and placed it in front of him.

Magic School Quest: Size Does Matter

A local bestiologist has noticed that the critters in The Dreaded Flatlands have recently doubled in size. The professors at Hawking's have been tasked with finding out why. But first, we need samples to analyze. Unfortunately, this literal growing problem is causing some other issues. Please thin out some of these oversized monsters and bring back the samples we need.

Difficulty: Easy

Success: Kill 5 Oversized Spiders

Kill 5 Oversized Snakes

Loot and return 1 Oversized Spider Venom Sack and 1 Oversized Snake Venom Sack to Hawking's School of Land Magic

Failure: Cancel quest

Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

“Looks good to me.” He rolled up the paper and placed it in his Bag of Holding. “Before I go, I was wondering if the magic school in The Deathlands would take on a student with a dark affinity?”

“A dark affinity?” Mareike parroted as if she’d never heard of such a thing before.

“Yeah. I have a friend who is a half-imp. Elise said that because he is half human and half imp, his affinity is on the dark side, so no magic school would be willing to teach him.”

“Oh.” She seemed to perk up as understanding hit her. “Well, I’ve never been to The Deathlands before.”

Azure waited for her to continue, but she said nothing else. That was his answer. She didn’t know.

There was no point in questioning Mareike further. Talking to the enchanting professor felt like squeezing water from a stone.

Azure took his leave, pulling up his World Map as he walked toward the exit. The Dreaded Flatlands appeared to be about twenty miles away. As with the gnolls, there was no pointed location on his map, just two overlapping red circles.

Feeling like he had the time to waste, Azure practiced mounting Flicker again. Now that he had a method down that worked, it seemed he was slowly making progress on his technique. He was able to throw his leg over her in two tries this time.

Reaching the closest red circle took a little less than an hour. For the first time in a while, Azure noticed a distinct change of scenery. As he approached his destination, the forest grew sparser, giving way to shorter brush and struggling patches of grass. Game seemed to nearly disappear in the open landscape. Soon, grass turned to dirt, and dirt began to turn into sand. Before Azure knew it, he had entered a desert.

The pro to this was that it made his prey incredibly easy to spot. The con was that there was no place for him to take cover. Stealth would not work here when there was absolutely nothing to hide behind. It was also unnaturally hot, which made moving in his armor miserable. Not to mention the fact that his feet sunk into the sand, adding to the labor.

The first critter that Azure spotted was an oversized spider. He didn't even need to Analyze it to tell what it was. With a body the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, the thing was massive. Oversized was an understatement.

It stretched its legs out, making lazy purchase across the dunes in its path. Azure was grateful he spotted it from behind. Most spiders were fast, and he doubted that with a legspan that long, he'd be able to cast both of his spells before the thing reached him. This seemed like a battle better fought from a distance.

Just to see how much power the creature had, Azure activated Analyze. Using it had become a habit before most battles.

Level 13 Oversized Spider.

Lower than him, but not by much.

Azure cast his Grease spell first, creating a puddle of muck at his feet. Then he wove his hands together in the intricate pattern needed for Greasy Summon. The two spells combined were a pretty heavy drain on his Mana.

Azure watched as grease began to rise from the sandy floor and take shape. What shape that was was a bit indiscernible. The result of the spell was a lump of goop that reminded Azure of a big, black booger. It had no limbs or eyes, and it continued to shapeshift as it stood before him, never settling on a form. The only thing that told him it was alive was a shorter Health bar that had suddenly appeared below his.

Azure tried to Analyze the Greasy Summon, and a window popped up.

Name: Greasy

Race: Summon

Level: 7

Health: 170

Damn. It's weak. Azure had thought it would be at least the same level as him. Maybe this spell wouldn't be so helpful after all.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it. At least, the summon should be able to buy him some time when the spider stopped to fight it. Azure was planning to snipe it from afar with his bow anyway.

He made the summon stay by his side until he'd nocked an arrow. Then he carefully took aim before letting the arrow sail. It flew through the air and seemed like it would hit its mark until the spider lifted a leg and placed it lazily in the flight path.

The arrow didn't seem to do any real damage to the spider other than to piss it off. Now aware of Azure's presence, it turned around and hissed at him before racing in his direction. Without even having to command it, Greasy charged as well.

Azure nocked another arrow but held back on drawing, curious as to how the battle would play out between the spider and his new temporary pet. As soon as the two reached each other, the oversized spider reared up and spit at the summon. Instantly, a notification appeared.

Level 13 Oversized Spider delivers 65 damage to Greasy Summon.

Greasy Summon has been poisoned and will lose 6 Health per second for the next 6 seconds.

The poisoned icon appeared next to Greasy's Health bar.

Even though Azure felt bad for the summon's imminent quick demise, he was happy that this was how he had learned of the spider's ability to inflict poison. It was a dangerous attack, and one best avoided if he could help it.

To Greasy's credit, he was able to get in two hits before the spider sunk its fangs into his gelatinous body and put an end to him. Azure watched as spikes of black shot forth from the blob like pointed appendages to stab the spider, though they didn't appear to do any significant amount of damage.

Upon its death, the summon simply melted back into a puddle of grease. This had yet another advantage. Since the spider was right on top of it, it couldn't avoid it. The enemy was instantly slowed. Azure had completely forgotten that would happen.

Despite its size and speed, the spider was an easy target now. Its legs were having difficulty finding purchase in the muck, and Azure would not make the same mistake of shooting it from the side again. Stepping around until he had a clear view of the spider's face, he put an arrow right between its eyes.

The oversized spider screeched an unfamiliar sound. Then its legs flailed out to its sides, and it slumped in death.

Defeated Level 13 Oversized Spider. 78XP rewarded.

“Well, that was easy.” But all the quests that Hawking’s sent him on were.

If the enemies were as isolated as this one had been, it might be a good time to test out the other effects of his Volatile Bolt spell, since he hadn’t really used it much on the gnolls. The terrain here was better for it. He didn’t have to worry about catching anything on fire.

Azure walked up to the spider and shivered as he looked down at its body. More a tarantula, each of its red eyes was the size of a golf ball, of which there were numerous. Its fangs were as long as Azure’s forearm, and he didn’t even want to imagine how much each of the legs weighed individually.

Now he needed to figure out how to get the venom sack out of it.

His gaze instantly fell to his Loot Automizer Pendant. “Let’s do this the easy way.” Azure lifted his pendant and pointed it at the spider.

The body began to glitter black and then shrank down into an orb no bigger than his palm. When he picked it up, the orb melted away into something smaller still.

You have received the following item:

Sharp-fringed Moss

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting. Alchemy.

It appeared to be a plant with green dagger-shaped leaves with black tips. The thin stems seemed flimsy, but the leaves themselves were every bit as sharp as they looked. This was not what Azure had wanted. How it related to the spider at all, he wasn't sure. He shrugged it off and stuck the moss in his Bag of Holding.

Azure had to walk several yards and crest a large dune before he found the next oversized spider. This one was actually coming toward him, but it didn't seem eager to attack when their eyes met.

Level 12 Oversized Spider.

Taking stock of how much Mana he had left, Azure decided to try a different approach. He cast Grease, letting more of the substance flow from him to see if he could summon an even bigger version of Greasy, figuring that the size of the summon probably correlated with the size of the puddle. That assumption proved to be wrong. Though the summoning spell soaked up all of the grease on the floor, the new Greasy was no larger than the previous one had been. Analyzing it showed Azure that the stats were the same as well.

Name: Greasy

Race: Summon

Level: 7

Health: 170

Instead of using his bow, Azure decided to give Volatile Bolt another try. He made a finger gun at the oversized spider, then fired off the spell. The spider was lifted off of its feet as a gust of wind swept across the desert at an alarming speed, kicking up enough sand to create a small twister. Azure felt the power of the spell cause backlash. He planted his feet, but still the force pushed him back. Sand sprayed everywhere from the wind, blowing into his eyes and momentarily blinding him. Though he didn't take any damage, Azure imagined he was just as stunned as the spider.

The oversized spider flew up a good six feet into the air before the twister dissipated, dropping it back down. Despite its good relationship with gravity, the spider was still injured in the fall. What was more surprising was the fact that the ground beneath its feet was now completely iced over.

Azure wasn't sure how this worked as there had been no moisture there before. It was yet another mystery of magic.

Whatever the case, the spider was flattened on its stomach. By the time Greasy reached it, it only took one good poke of his spiky tentacle to bring about the spider's demise.

Defeated Level 12 Oversized Spider. 72XP rewarded.

TRING!

Congratulations! You are now Level 15! Your base stats have been boosted. You have earned 3 points to assign to your characteristics. Please note that adding points to some characteristics(Vitality, Intelligence, and Strength) will further boost your base stats. You may also advance any 1 skill of your choosing by 1 level.

Very nice!

Upon vanquishing the enemy, Greasy returned to Azure's side. He was torn between quickly finding another spider to get the most bang for his buck from the summon, looting the one they'd just killed, or allocating his characteristic points. Decisions, decisions.

If Azure let Greasy disappear, he'd have to wait seven more minutes to summon him again. Still, it would probably take that long to loot the body and allocate his characteristic points. Besides, if he rushed, the summon might wear out before he finished the battle, and Azure wasn't completely sure how he wanted to approach the next fight.

Coming to the conclusion that it was best not be hasty, he turned his attention to looting the body. Using his Loot Automizer Pendant again, Azure crossed his fingers and prayed for a venom sack.

Again, the spider's body shrank down to way smaller than Azure could have hoped the venom sack would be. As the item began to take shape, he prayed that he was wrong.

You have received the following item:

Urticating Hairs

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting.

“Shit.” Whether Azure liked it or not, he should probably suck it up and get his hands dirty on the next spider. He only had so many chances to get this right.

The item seemed more like a handful of nine-inch needles than hairs. Azure stuffed them in his Bag of Holding, then concentrated on pulling up his character sheet.

Name: Azure

Race: Human

Level: 15, 1% of the way to next level

Health: 460 / 350 (470)

Mana: 240 / 320 (470)

Stamina: 420 / 320 (440)

Vitality: 20 (12)

Intelligence: 17 (15)

Strength: 17 (12)

Agility: 14 (10)

Dexterity: 15 (8)

Charisma: 11 (9)

Luck: 15 (5)

Skills: Archery Lvl 9; 7% of the way to next level

Stealth Lvl 4; 33% of the way to next level

Analyze Lvl 11; 82% of the way to next level

Cooking Lvl 6; 55% of the way to next level

Alchemy Lvl 5; 14% of the way to next level

Foraging Lvl 12; 11% of the way to next level

One-Handed Weapons Lvl 9; 58% of the way to next level

Tracking Lvl 2; 80% of the way to next level

Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 6; 58% of the way to next level

Fishing Lvl 3; 0% of the way to next level

Drinking Lvl 2; 45% of the way to next level

Land Magic Lvl 3; 33% of the way to next level

Enchanting Lvl 3; 66% of the way to next level

Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue, Elvish, Cheoksum

Adventurer Rank: E

Allocating his points was a no-brainer. Due to his increased use of Mana, Azure put all three into Intelligence.

Again, Archery seemed to be the only skill worth leveling, so he used his ability there, hoping for another perk.

Congratulations! The skill: Archery has reached Level 10. This skill allows you to use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.

No new perk, but no big deal.

For a moment, Azure wondered if he was being too aggressive leveling that particular skill. Maybe saving the ability for his Two-Handed Weapons skill would have been a better choice since he tended to switch weapons whenever he found anything new and superior to what he already had. For the longest time, Azure had thought that the Bergen's Glaive would be his be all and end all sword, but there were clearly more powerful weapons to be found in The Realm. At this point, he knew himself well enough to realize that he'd switch his fighting style to suit whatever weapon benefited him the most at the time. Minus the Black Barbed Whip, that is. That thing was just dangerous.

A new experiment popped into Azure's head, but he wasn't sure it was worth it. Honestly, what were the odds of him ever needing the whip when he had so much magic and other things at his disposal. With that thought, Azure shelved the idea of learning how to use the whip. It decorated his belt nicely enough, still giving him the benefits of its stat boosts without him having to actually wield it.

Content with his choices, Azure closed his character sheet and moved on, scouring the desert for another spider to slay. He found one not too far away creeping over a dune. Curious about how many different element types could come from his Volatile Bolt spell, Azure decided to deploy the same method as before.

He cast Grease and Greasy Summon, then spent another 20 Mana to shoot with his finger gun. The lot of spells combined cost him 50 Mana, which was a ridiculous amount. Azure would definitely be snarfing down some Blue Mushrooms later.

Despite his desire for a different element, another maelstrom of wind blasted forth from his fingertip, having the same result as before. Azure briefly wondered if there was any way to control the spell, but he supposed it wouldn't be called 'volatile' if that were the case.

The spider lifted off of the ground and spun in the air a few times before being dropped heavily onto a frozen bed. Then Greasy ran up to finish it off.

Defeated Level 12 Oversized Spider. 72XP rewarded.

Azure approached the dead spider, making a disgusted face from the thought of the work ahead. Not knowing much about spider anatomy, he could only assume that the venom sack was somewhere within the monster’s head. Taking out his Black Dagger, he got to work carefully carving the critter up, looking for anything inside of it that resembled a sack. Unfortunately, the item wasn’t so easily identifiable, and Azure ended up covered in goopy spider viscera with no positive results.

While he hadn’t located the venom sack, he did find hairs on the spider’s abdomen that matched with the ones he had acquired from his Loot Automizer Pendant. Thankfully, they seemed as strong as metal, and he was able to extract them from the body without damaging them, making the surgery not a total loss. Though, to be fair, he never would have gotten filthy if he’d just gone for the hairs.

You have received the following item:

Urticating Hairs

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting.

Finding this particular spider completely unsalvageable, Azure decided that he'd just take the whole damn head of the next one. The venom sack had to be in there somewhere.

Azure had just enough Mana to kill two more spiders using the same method. Then he'd have to refill for the snakes. Either that or switch to non-magical methods. Presently, he felt pretty confident with his bow. He also had a good idea of how the spiders attacked, so saving his Mana for the snakes might be a smarter idea. Also, it wasn't necessary for him to keep using Volatile Bolt. While Azure was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't get to finish testing out its full range, he felt it was better to save his Mana for more important things. There would always be another time to give the spell a try.

Azure walked a ways to find the next spider, considering trying his luck without any magic. He worried he wouldn't be able to maneuver in close enough to one of the spiders to get a body shot in without sustaining multiple injuries though. Not to mention getting poisoned. Although Azure generally enjoyed combat, he did not enjoy getting hurt. Wasting the Mana for distant combat was far better than sustaining injuries, he decided.

Upon approaching the next spider, he cast Grease and Greasy Summon but refrained from using Volatile Bolt. His bow had proven only somewhat less effective from a distance.

As soon as the summon was ready, Azure shot the spider from afar. This time, he managed to land a hit in the monster's abdomen.

Critical Hit!

That should have dealt a good amount of damage.

Azure stood back while the summon and the spider went to war with one another. Rearing back, the spider spit its poison just as Greasy reached in to stab it. That would have been where Azure would have taken the opening should he have been fighting the spider with his sword. Maybe he could have dodged the poison. Perhaps not. Greasy didn't seem to have any desire to try to dodge, taking the full brunt of the damage.

Level 11 Oversized Spider delivers 55 damage to Greasy Summon.

Greasy Summon has been poisoned and will lose 6 Health per second for the next 6 seconds.

It didn't matter, though. Somehow, the lower-level summon was still able to outlast the spider, doing it in with a second blow.

Defeated Level 11 Oversized Spider. 66XP rewarded.

Curious as to exactly how much control he had over the summon, Azure tried to command Greasy to stay with the body instead of coming back to him. The black blob stopped in its tracks and turned around, snail-trailing its way back to the corpse of the spider. He ordered it to disappear, and it exploded into a puddle of grease, coating the spider in black gunk.

“Shit.”

Stupid move. He still needed to get in there and retrieve the head.

A bit annoyed with himself, Azure crossed the few yards to reach the downed spider. For several moments, he simply stared at it, thinking about how he’d take the head without covering himself in grease. It was quickly turning into a very messy day.

Finally, after a few more seconds of contemplating, he pussied out and decided to use his pendant again. If Azure didn’t get the venom sack this time around, he could only hope that he’d be able to cut off the next spider’s head without damaging the venom sack. Either that or that more than five oversized spiders were wandering about. There typically were in these types of quests.

There was no such luck in pulling the item he had wanted. This time, a bundle of white fiber appeared in his hands.

You have received the following item:

Spider Silk

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.1 kg

Uses: Crafting.

“Well hell.” Exactly how much of this thing was lootable? Every time, he got something new.

Disappointed, Azure placed the silk in his Bag of Holding and moved on. One last spider to go. One last chance to get the spider venom sack he needed to complete his quest.

The final spider appeared over the horizon as soon as Azure had finished putting the silk away. The good news was that he didn't have to go hunting for it. The bad news was that his Greasy Summon spell still needed to cooldown for four more minutes.

A thought occurred to him then. Every use of his Volatile Bolt spell seemed to have some type of slowing effect. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage.

Deciding to forgo summoning Greasy this time, Azure pointed his finger gun at the spider, praying for either the wind or water spell. Either would slow the spider down well enough for him to get in a body shot with his bow. That would leave the head intact for him to harvest it.

If this didn't work, however, he might end up scrambling for his bow. Or worse, have to engage in melee that would put him in close range of the spider's poison attack. Whatever the case, Azure was committed.

Heat flowed through his body in a torrent. Azure felt it begin at his core, then shoot out through his fingertip into a gout of flame like an overpowered flamethrower. The spider had just barely reached the range of the spell. It hissed and reared back, pawing at the flames with its oversized legs a few times before retreating. After the initial burst, a burning path was left behind. It led to the spider but did not consume it. Instead, the spider went around, angrily approaching at a fast pace.

Yup. It was just as I'd feared.

Feeling that a bladed weapon would be superior in this battle, Azure drew his Bergen's Glaive. As soon as the spider was upon him, it reared up and spit. Having watched the other four spiders fight with his summon, Azure predicted the move and dashed to the side to avoid being hit by the poison. He rolled inward, under the spider's legs, and brought his blade up to stab into the monster's torso, coming up short and severing off one of its legs instead. The creature let out a high-pitched half-whine half-scream before lifting its body again. Azure tried to get out of the way, but one of its feet came down on his heel, tripping him. Searing fire centralized on the back of his calf as one of the spider's giant fangs buried deeply into it.

Level 12 Oversized Spider delivers 60 damage.

Thankfully, it didn't poison him in the process.

There was a strange feeling of relief when the spider pulled its fang out. A hot throbbing sensation was left behind, and Azure's leg quickly became numb.

The spider was thoroughly ticked off, rushing forward to pierce him again. Azure rolled out of the way, putting all of his weight behind a weak upward slash. Damn was his Bergen's Glaive ever hard to wield when he was on his back. The attack did nothing besides cause the spider to take a step back and then advance again.

Azure tried with all of his might to scramble to his feet, but it was difficult when he could barely feel his foot. Even with his boosted Agility, the spider was faster, and it seemed like a constant struggle to stay out from under it.

A stab to the shin of his other leg rendered Azure immobile.

Level 12 Oversized Spider delivers 60 damage.

Fuck all. I should have just waited and used the summon.

The spider was on him again in an instant. It was all Azure could do to block the fangs from sinking into his chest. For the spider being several levels lower than him, this was not looking good. He needed to think fast.

Venom dripped from the spider's fangs as it bared down on him, trying to use the sheer weight of its body to push past Azure's defenses. The venom fell onto his chest, filling his nostrils with a chemical smell. Azure grunted as he fought with everything he had, his arms bowing inward from the difference in strength.

He wanted this to be like in the movies where the hero overpowered the monster at the last minute—pulled from some unforeseen pool of strength fueled by adrenaline. But that didn't happen. With one last show of force, the spider worked Azure's muscles to atrophy. Its fangs came down, the only respite the fact that his sword worked as a barrier between them to keep the monster from sinking its fangs all the way down into his heart.

Azure screamed as fire bloomed in his chest. What he had done to the spider's outsides with his Volatile Bolt, the spider was doing to his insides with whatever it was injecting into him.

Critical Hit! Level 12 Oversized Spider delivers 70 damage.

Feeling panicked and desperate, Azure did the only thing he thought might save his life. He dropped his blade and cocked his hand back, blasting the spider with Volatile Bolt at close range.

At first, Azure wasn't sure if it was the stab to his chest that caused the increased heat flooding throughout him. It felt like he was about to be consumed by fiery death. But as soon as the sensation reached his arm, he had a new reason to panic. There was no stopping it now.

A gout of flames shot forth from his fingertip, the force of which was so strong that it blew the spider completely off of him. The next several moments were a blur of terror and pain. Heat surrounded Azure's body. Scorching heat. Blistering heat.

He tried to crawl away as soon as the realization hit him that his entire body was engulfed in flames. Red filled his vision. Then his eyes erupted in their sockets, adding to his overwhelming agony. Azure wasn't sure if the screams he was hearing belonged to the spider or him. In his now blindness, a notification announcing the monster's death flashed before a black background. His mental hysteria pushed it away.

Spell backlash delivers 75 damage.

You are burning and will lose 20 Health per second for the next 5 seconds.

An image of orange flames appeared as a status effect in Azure's peripheral vision. He barely had the mental capacity to notice its presence. With no sense of direction, he wasn't sure if he was crawling away from the sea of fire he'd just created or further into it. All he knew was that he was dying.

It took every ounce of his energy to keep moving. Azure's skin sizzled, the metal of his chainmail baking into his flesh. The scent of his body cooking filled his nostrils. It smelled like pork and burnt hair.

He had felt pain before, but not like this. Nothing like this. Seconds ticked by like hours as he tried his best to escape the hell he'd created.

Remembering something he'd learned in elementary school, Azure rolled to put himself out. At least, he thought he rolled. He couldn't feel anymore. And soon, the rest of him succumbed to the pain, drawing him into unconsciousness as a merciful coping mechanism.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

THE REALM – Day 90

You have died.

Why did Azure always see that during near-death experiences? He hadn't died, of course. It just felt like he had. Hell, he wished he had.

Pain was the first thing Azure felt when he awoke. All over his entire body. Like he was just one big wound.

The next thing was panic. He couldn't see. Couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. There was a cloying blackness all around him. A color of black he'd never seen before.

Air filled Azure's lungs in a whoosh, and he began to hyperventilate. What was this pain? Could he even get rid of it?

Despite the agony of moving, Azure reached for his Bag of Holding. Somehow, it remained intact at his hip. Just moving to touch it peeled off pieces of his charred flesh, opening sores. The intensity of the pain made Azure feel like he might pass out again. He knew that this was the only way to find relief, though.

Pushing through the most extreme discomfort he had ever experienced in his entire life, Azure felt around for the vials in his bag, grabbing a fistful of them. Numbers or quality didn’t matter at this point. He’d drink every last one of them if it made this pain subside.

Chugging down three at a time, Azure practically inhaled his stash of Potions of Minor Healing. Each round made him feel better, but the healing wasn’t pleasant either. His flesh and skin tingled as it regenerated. The buzzing pain in his eyes was almost unbearable.

It wasn’t until he was 10 potions in that Azure began to regain his sight. His hands trembled as he took stock of himself. Many of his items had been burned to a crisp. His Spiked Vambraces were gone. Black Barbed Whip, gone. Gnollish Club and Wooden Buckler, gone. Goblin Bow and all of his arrows, no more. Every stitch of clothing he’d been wearing that wasn’t made of metal had sloughed off from the fire, leaving behind patches of scarred skin. The loss felt monumental.

To add insult to injury, Azure was naked aside from his helmet, greaves, chainmail, and jewelry. He looked like a knight that had been raped out in the middle of the desert, set on fire, and left for dead. He didn’t feel much better than that either.

The sun was peeking over the horizon, which meant that Azure had been unconscious all night. It was a wonder that nothing had come along and eaten him. Or that bats or shadowlings hadn’t given him any grief. If that had been the case, he surely would have died.

“That was a close one.” He let his head fall to the side.

There was a path of black sand that led to the body of the spider he’d slain. It was turned over onto its back, its remaining legs curled inward in the classic dead spider position. The previously brown hairy body was as black as black could be. Azure imagined that if he tried to touch it, it would crumble into ash. So much for getting that last spider venom sack.

Azure didn't really give two shits about that right now. He was just grateful to be alive. He pulled himself into a sitting position and looked around as he lazily drank a few more healing potions to top off his health and get rid of any remaining scabbing. All he wanted was to feel better.

One thing was for certain, he'd never use that Volatile Bolt spell again. The memory of burning alive had him scared to death of it. Since he couldn't control what element came forth from him, it wasn't worth the risk.

Azure thanked the gods that he hadn't sold his Armor of Light. It had crossed his mind once he was fully decked out in new, better armor, but the sentimental value of it made him hold back. Also, it was a complete set of armor, and he figured that those were few and far between in The Realm. Maybe he was wrong, though. He had seen more than a handful of knights that donned, what appeared to be, matching sets of armor. Whatever the case, he now definitely didn't regret his decision to hold onto it.

Azure stood and slowly dressed, feeling much lighter. By the time he was done, the only thing missing was shoes. He'd have to buy some new ones when he reached Squall's End. The sand was warm beneath his feet but not uncomfortable to walk on barefooted thanks to the fact that night had done its job to cool things off.

Azure went over to the dead spider. It was definitely every bit as crispy as he predicted. There would be no looting it for its venom sack. Unless....

He pointed his Loot Automizer Pendant at the corpse. Instead of the body beginning to sparkle though, a notification popped up.

There is nothing to loot here.

Azure huffed, though he wasn’t surprised. As if to give him visual confirmation, the body of the spider slowly began flaking away.

“You held up for me all night just to do this now.” A soft chuckle escaped his lips, more so from the insanity of the previous day’s events than any amusement from his current situation.

Despite being fulled healed, Azure did not feel well. Certainly not well enough to fight any more monsters. He was shaken and unsettled by what had happened. All that he currently wanted was to return to Squall’s End and take a few days off to mentally recover. Thanks to the potions, his physical wounds had healed quickly. His mental wounds, not so much.

Deciding to abandon the quest for now, Azure summoned Flicker. There was no patience in him for practice. He made her lie down so that he could easily mount her, then he took off at a walk toward Squall’s End.

Azure enjoyed a leisurely pace until his Mana began to run down, then he galloped the rest of the way to Squall’s End. It seemed especially important to take in his surroundings today. Not because he was afraid that monsters might be lurking to attack, but because everything seemed so surreal. Somehow, he was still alive despite practically burning to death the day before. Passing out had been a mercy.

Had Azure been back on Earth, there would be no quick healing. He would have had to suffer the pain of his wounds for many months of recovery, and he never would have been the same after. That gave him a new appreciation for The Realm. It also made him want to take the time to notice all of the little things that he usually took for granted. The pleasure of a cool breeze on his face. The smell of clean air, something he hadn’t been afforded on Earth. The way that healing herbs grew all around him, even if he was too lazy to dismount his horse and Forage right now. The Realm was an amazing place, but it was also horrible.

Never on Earth would he have to worry about something like spell backlash. There wasn't magic on Earth. Nor would he have to fight monsters for money. Paychecks were doled out for day after day of monotonous desk work. Life here might be more exciting, but it was definitely harder and far more dangerous. Just in the few short months that Azure had been in The Realm, he'd had more near-death experiences than throughout his entire lifespan on Earth. Now that he thought about, there weren't a lot of old people wandering around. Certainly not any elderly Adventurers.

The Adventurers Guild was always filled with eager teens to thirty-somethings. There were a few people he might have pegged in their forties, but those were few and far between. If he kept on adventuring, Azure feared that one of his near-death experiences would eventually end up going beyond that. And for as boring as life had been on Earth, Azure was beginning to feel like he wanted out of The Realm. But he had no idea how to leave or if he even could. As far as he was aware, this was his life now.

By the time Azure arrived back in Squall's End, his Mana was almost on E. He had managed to level his enchanting skill one more time, though.

Congratulations! The skill: Enchanting has reached Level 4. This skill allows you to bring the elements into you to create something new or change the things around you. Continuing to level up this skill will unlock the ability to learn more spells of the same magic type.

It was a small consolation. A way to make him feel that the day hadn’t been so wasted.

Speaking of wasted, that was precisely how Azure planned to get. He wouldn’t be doing any more fighting for a while and could afford the hangover. But first, he needed to pay for more nights at the inn. And before that, he needed shoes. Walking barefoot around town just felt strange and uncomfortable. Now would be a good time to visit Cristopher, Bronna’s uncle.

The cobbler’s shop was tucked away in a corner of the town near the port. A few pairs of sandals and boots sat in the display window. Peeking inside, Azure could tell it was a small space.

Cristopher was sitting at the back of the room stitching two pieces of leather together. He looked up when Azure entered, then smiled when recognition hit him.

“Hey there. I wasn’t sure I’d be seeing you again. Almost didn’t recognize you without hair.” The barrel of a man pointed at his own head. “I take it this isn’t just a friendly visit.” His gaze fell to Azure’s bare feet.

“Shoes. I need shoes.” Azure wiggled his toes, not enjoying the grime that had gathered between them.

“Shoes, I can do. I fix them, and I make them. Take a look around and let me know if you see anything that you like.” The cordwainer warmly smiled at him. Cristopher was one of the few friendly faces in The Realm that was actually genuine. Azure appreciated that.

He took his time scanning the room, picking up one pair of shoes to check out its stats, then moving over to look at the next. Compared to a shoe store in his own world, the selection was dismally small. Still, it was better than nothing. Of what was available were the following:

Small Cloth Sandals

Defense: +1

Type: Light Armor

Durability: 21/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.4 kg

Cloth Sandals

Defense: +2

Type: Light Armor

Durability: 21/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 0.5 kg

Small Leather Boots

Defense: +3

Type: Light Armor

Durability: 21/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 2.0 kg

Large Leather Boots

Defense: +4

Type: Light Armor

Durability: 21/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 3.0 kg

Fur Lined Boots

Defense: +4

Type: Light Armor

Durability: 21/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 2.5 kg

Large Patchwork Boots

Defense: +4

Type: Light Armor

Durability: 21/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 3.0 kg

Small Rawhide Boots

Defense: +3

Type: Light Armor

Durability: 21/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 3.0 kg

Large Rawhide Boots

Defense: +4

Type: Light Armor

Durability: 21/21

Item Class: Common

Quality: Average

Weight: 4.6 kg

Honestly, Azure didn't notice much of a difference between most of the boots.

Since the larger variety gave better defense stats, he inquired about the price of those, settling on purchasing the Large Patchwork Boots for 1 gold and 5 silver. They were the ugliest boots in the bunch, made up of a variety of materials of various shades of brown, tan, black, and red, but they would work. He wasn't exactly trying to be stylish anyway with his mismatched armor.

Next, Azure sold Cristopher his Spider Silk and two sets of Urticating Hairs, earning him back 2 gold, 2 silver, and 5 copper. It made him feel like he came out the winner of the deal.

Once their business was concluded, they took some time to catch up. Cristopher told Azure that the baby would be coming any day now. His wife, Owe, had been pregnant last Azure had seen her—the only time he'd seen her. The studious woman was still keeping Bronna under wraps, testing out some parenting skills on her.

Apparently, Lonnell had been sneaking over to spend time with Bronna whenever he could, something that Azure had been unaware of. Not that it really mattered. That was his business. He was just happy that Lonnell hadn't brought her into Squall's End, not particularly fond of his friend's fiance.

When Cristopher was done speaking, Azure launched into a shortened version of his many adventures. The cordwainer oohed and awed, saying he wished he had had the stomach to travel the Adventurer's path throughout his life. Apparently, he had tried it in his youth but quickly realized it wasn't his thing.

“Back then, I was as poor as poor can be,” Cristopher told him. “I mean, I’m not exactly rich now, but I do pretty well for myself and my family.” His eyes volleyed around the shoe store. “Like most young folks, I got into Adventuring to make money with the grand plan of getting rich and maybe even becoming a knight someday. But as a budding Adventurer with no money to spend on new equipment, what I did have was cheap and flimsy.

“I was too much of a coward to take on Monster quests or Bounties, so I mostly stuck to Gathering and Miscelanous. But as you probably know, those usually don’t pay a lot. One day, I tried to up my game by taking on a Monster quest. My equipment was already in pretty bad shape. The Durability on the pair of boots I was wearing ran out midbattle. Luckily, there was another party member with me.” Cristopher paused for a moment, a sheepish grin lighting up his face. “You can probably imagine how embarrassed I was to have to retreat because my shoes had fallen apart.” A light chuckle escaped his lips. “We made it out of the skirmish okay, though my partner ended up having to do most of the work.

“That mistake led me to purchase a needle and some thread. Any time my boots would show signs of wear, I’d stitch them back up. As time progressed, I found myself oddly obsessed with helping people fix their footwear. And then one day it dawned on me that I was in the wrong line of work.

“I used what coin I had to buy a small cart and the materials I needed to fix shoes, and I set up in Noseon to start cobbling. But the competition was tight. There were already a lot of cobblers within the kingdom who had an established client base, and they didn’t take well to a newcomer moving in. They harassed me until I decided to move my cart just outside of the outer wall so that I could catch knights and adventurers entering the town.

“There was no law against it, so I thought it would be okay. And it was, for a while. Business boomed. I started making real money. But then word got around to the other cobblers, and they rallied together to chase me completely out of town. So, I came here,” he said with a long sigh, unpleasant memories showing in his eyes.

“That’s horrible. I’m sorry that happened to you. People can be dicks sometimes.” Azure shook his head.

Cristopher laughed. “Yes, they can be. But it was all for the best. The cobbler here at the time was old and ready to retire. He didn’t mind so much when I set up my cart in the town square. In fact, he taught me so much more that I didn’t know, including how to make shoes from fresh materials.” He smiled softly. “Sometimes, when he was too tired or just didn’t feel like dealing with them, he’d send his customers over to me. And then one day, he just disappeared.” The smile faded into sadness.

“Disappeared?”

“He died,” Cristopher clarified. “Apparently, they found him sitting in his favorite chair holding a shoe. The man was well-loved here. A gentle soul. Someone I’d even consider a father figure in the absence of my own.”

“Anyway, I met Owe when she came to me for my services. Back then, she was an Adventurer. Fierce, that one was. It never quite went away.” Now he was smiling for a different reason. “So you see, moving here worked out for me just fine. It was what was meant to happen. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. Just like you met me so you’d know where to buy good shoes.” Cristopher winked.

Once story time was over, Azure thanked him and left. He felt oddly better now that he’d shared a conversation with the pleasant man. Like the world around him wasn’t so dark and filled with terrifying things. Perhaps that had been the real reason for their meeting—for Cristopher to soothe him right now without even trying. Whatever the case, Azure was thankful for the experience.

With new boots on his feet—the quality of which he was quite impressed with—he headed to the inn.

Deciding not to be such a cheapskate, Azure purchased a full week. Then he paid for a bath to wash the rest of the burnt grime from his body. He soaked in the water, taking his time. He even thought about forking out the coin for someone to bathe him, though it seemed a bit gratuitous.

I should treat myself. Maybe I'll take things a step further and go to the pleasure house. Paying for sex seems like a waste, but I nearly died, so I don't think it would be too bad of a thing. In this world, who knows when you're going to get killed.

He mulled over the idea until the bathwater was so cloudy that he couldn't see his own cock beneath it. Then he emerged from the tub and put back on his light armor before taking all of the metal pieces back to his room.

Once that was done, laziness and the need to drink drove him to the tavern, pushing back the idea of going to the pleasure house for another time. If he was going to take an entire week off, then there was no rush.

Azure savored a meal of mutton leg with some root vegetable, washing it down with a pint of beer. It was, he thought, the best thing he'd ever tasted. But that was only because of his brush with death. In reality, the meat was overcooked and under-seasoned, but Azure certainly wasn't going to complain.

As he spent his hours sitting in the tavern and sipping on beer, he thought about what he would do throughout the week. Purchase some alchemy components and replenish the Potions of Minor Healing that he'd used up. Find somewhere to buy a new bow and some arrows. Being able to attack his enemies from afar without magic was essential. Azure didn't particularly feel bad about losing his Goblin Bow. He'd needed something better for a while.

Nothing else he'd lost really required immediate replacing. Azure mourned the loss of the stat boosts from the Black Barbed Whip and Gnollish Club. Just losing those two items made him feel like he'd dropped several levels. Part of the reason he was so shaken was of how weak he now felt.

Once he was well wasted, Azure dragged himself up to his room, stripped off his clothes, and promptly passed out on his bedroll, looking forward to waking the next morning refreshed. Well, refreshed and with a hangover. And that's exactly what he did.

The next morning came with pain. It was a welcome pain. A pain that was centralized in his head, not spread out and burning all over his body. Just the memory made Azure shiver.

He spent the vast majority of the day throwing up and drinking water. It was one of the worst hangovers of his life, but also one of the best...because he was still alive. Of course, after a few hours, he wondered why he had done this to himself. Wasn't the whole point of being happy to be alive to enjoy it free from pain? Oh well, he couldn't take what he'd done back.

When Azure felt well enough, he went down to the tavern to eat and people-watch. The very first person that he Analyzed leveled up the skill.

Congratulations! The skill: Analyze has reached Level 12. This skill allows you to see how dangerous a foe is in relation to your own level. Use this skill frequently to avoid getting yourself killed.

“Hooray,” he said weakly, doing jazz hands in the air which quickly ended up moving to hold his throbbing head instead. Azure tried drinking a Potion of Minor Healing, then eating a Wild Onion, but neither helped to ease the icepicks stabbing at his brain.

After a while, he went back up to his room to take a nap. There was nothing better to do than to sleep off his misery.

When he awoke next, Azure felt remarkably better, though still not 100%. He stepped up to the window, gauging the amount of light to see if any of the merchants would still be open. While he didn’t feel well enough to do anything too strenuous, he could at least buy some alchemy components and mash up a few extra Potions of Minor Healing so as not to make the day feel like an entire waste.

Putting on his clothes was a laborious task, and by the time he got back downstairs and made his way to the town square, the merchants had already shuffled off home. Azure was admittedly disappointed. Surrendering to the fact that it was going to be a lazy night, he returned to the tavern for dinner.

His taste buds seemed to have reverted to their pre-near-death experience state where he didn’t quite appreciate the food as much. Then again, he’d never been a fan of porridge, especially the non-sweet variety. Porridge for dinner had never been a thing to him before coming to The Realm. But here they served chunks of unidentifiable meat in it. It tasted like stew and oatmeal had an unintentional baby together. While others woofed it down heartily and praised the cook, Azure was less impressed.

Skipping out on the beer this time, Azure was standing to go back to his room when he saw Janine walk in. Her face alighted with a smile as soon as she laid eyes on him, and she took quick strides over to his table.

“Hey there,” Janine said in greeting before her gaze drifted to his cueball. “You decided to shave off all of your hair.” The fact that there was no follow up compliment indicated that it was not a good look for Azure.

“I actually did not. Do you have time for a horrible story?”

“A horrible story?” She drew her hand up to her chest before sitting down. “That certainly doesn’t sound good.”

“Oh, I promise you, it’s not.” He sat as well, then launched into the tale of the oversized spider quest. By the time he was done, Janine looked mortified.

“I hate spiders,” she said with complete disdain. “And I hate it here. I can’t wait to get back to our world.”

Azure laughed at this. “Tell me a way, and I’ll follow you to the ends of The Realm. I fear we’re stuck here for the rest of our miserable lives.”

Janine’s face went slack, and she glanced around the room before standing to walk around the table and sit next to Azure.

The closeness made him nervous. “Are you all right?”

“There may be a way back,” she whispered.

“What?!” Azure quirked his head back.

Janine paused and pressed her lips together. It seemed that she was either struggling with the idea of telling him or that she didn’t believe whatever she was about to share. “Someone told me that if you see all of the gods in The Realm, you’ll be granted one wish.”

He swore his heart had just skipped a beat from the new information. “How long have you known that?”

“A while,” she confessed guiltily.

Discontent seeped into his voice from the feeling of betrayal. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Janine sulked. “Because I don’t know if we go together if we’ll only get one wish. And I need to get back to my kids.”

Azure sighed. That made sense. Still, she shouldn’t have withheld something so important to both of them. “If you knew this, then why haven’t you gone yet?”

“Finborh is the closest god to us right now. I’ve been told that he won’t see anyone below level 15. That’s why it’s been so important for me to gain experience,” she informed him. “This is the quest I was telling you about.”

“Wait. You got this in the form of a quest?” Now he was even more surprised.

“No.” Janine shook her head. “I’m not even sure if the information is valid. The whole thing could be a lie, but I have to find out for myself. Even if it’s not true, I have to try. And at the very least, if I go to Finborh, he’ll be able to confirm the validity of the information. And maybe...maybe if it’s not true, he’ll still know of a way to get out of here. He is a god, after all. They have to know something.” Her shoulders shook with the outpour of words.

She was right. If anyone knew how to escape The Realm, it would be one of the gods.

Azure was still torn on whether or not he wanted to leave this strange world, but he’d at least like to know if it was an option.

Since he was already level 15, he could meet with Finborh whenever he wanted. That wouldn’t be fair to Janine though. What if there was only one wish? Not just one wish per group of people that visited all of the gods, but only one wish in the entire world. It was highly probable. He couldn’t fuck her out of that because she’d trusted him with this life-changing knowledge.

“All I want is to go home and see my babies.” Janine hugged herself. “To hold them and make sure that my son is all right. I’d give everything for that.”

“Then there’s only one thing to do.” Azure stared forward with a look of determination. “We have to level you up as quickly as possible.”

Her gaze fell to the small space between them. “Please don’t tell anyone else about this, William. I’m trusting you. I only told you because we’re in a similar situation.”

“I won’t.”

“Thank you.” She seemed to relax a bit.

“But I do want to go with you,” he confessed before quickly adding, “Don’t worry, I don’t want the wish. If we only get one, you can have it. Hell, you can even part ways with me after we see Finborh. I just want to know if it’s true—if there are ways out of The Realm.”

The adventure continues in book five. Coming soon...

To further support this author, please post a review after you finish reading this book.

Phoenix Grey is the super secret nerd pen name of a USA Today bestselling author. She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas where she hermits away while working on books and playing video games. When she's not busy plotting her world domination, she can be found hosting game nights at the local comic book store or checking out the latest recommended anime.

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Azure's end of book stats:

Name: Azure

Race: Human

Level: 15, 15% of the way to next level

Health: 410 / 350 (410)

Mana: 410 / 350 (410)

Stamina: 400 / 320 (400)

Vitality: 20 (6)

Intelligence: 20 (6)

Strength: 17 (8)

Agility: 14 (5)

Dexterity: 15 (6)

Charisma: 11 (5)

Luck: 15 (2)

Skills: Archery Lvl 10; 1% of the way to next level

Stealth Lvl 4; 33% of the way to next level

Analyze Lvl 12; 11% of the way to next level

Cooking Lvl 6; 55% of the way to next level

Alchemy Lvl 5; 14% of the way to next level

Foraging Lvl 12; 11% of the way to next level

One-Handed Weapons Lvl 9; 58% of the way to next level

Tracking Lvl 2; 80% of the way to next level

Two-Handed Weapons Lvl 6; 60% of the way to next level

Fishing Lvl 3; 0% of the way to next level

Drinking Lvl 2; 50% of the way to next level

Land Magic Lvl 3; 40% of the way to next level

Enchanting Lvl 4; 8% of the way to next level

Languages: Common Tongue, Sprite, Goblin-Tongue, Elvish, Cheoksum

Adventurer Rank: E

Lonnell's end of book stats:

Name: Lonnell Namud

Race: Human

Level: 12

Health: 260 (370)

Mana: 210 (310)

Stamina: 300 (350)

Uden's end of book stats:

Name: Uden Namud

Race: Half-Human, Half-Imp

Level: 9

Health: 230

Mana: 200

Stamina: 220

Janine's end of book stats:

Name: Janine Cossey

Race: Dwarf

Level: 13

Health: 300

Mana: 250

Stamina: 300

End of Book Shit

Hey guys and gals,

Sorry it took me so long to get this book out. As most of you know, I took a few months off to work on The Realm Reborn: Small Closed Demo. If you haven't read it yet, you can get a free copy by signing up for my mailing list at the following link:

https://www.subscribepage.com/TheRealmBetween4

These past few months have been hell on wheels for me. I have had so many issues with the apartment I've been living in. First, I was driven out by the smell of them resurfacing the cabinets in an adjacent unit. Then I was pretty much without air conditioner for an entire month. Here is Texas, temperatures have been reaching into the triple digits, so there were a few days that I just couldn't stay here.

Unfortunately, I'm not one of those authors who can take their laptop to a Starbucks and tap away. I need complete silence to be able to concentrate when I write. So that put me a bit behind as well.

Having said all that, I don't have any more planned side projects for a while, so the 5th book in The Realm Between should be coming out sooner than this last one. I try to anticipate three to four months between releases, but as above displayed, sometimes unexpected setbacks happen.

If you haven't guessed by now, Magic School sets the tone for the rest of the series. From this point on, Azure will be working on getting out of The Realm, but there are a lot more twists and turns planned ahead. Stay tuned, folks!

Much love,

Phoenix Grey

SPECIAL THANKS

I want to take the time to give a special thanks to the following people who have helped support me during the writing of this book:

Nate Guthrie

Paul Bellow

Tyller James

Everything you guys do means so much to me. ❤️

FREE BOOK

Get this free book when you sign up for my mailing list. This offer is exclusive to my mailing list subscribers.

Description

One of the world’s top competitive gamers, Theo Robinson, has been invited to demo The Realm Online, Radical Interactive’s second attempt to delve into the VRMMORPG industry. Their first attempt had critics cringing at blocky graphics and less than realistic NPC interactions. Now, after over twenty years of marrying virtual reality and medical technology, Radical Interactive is ready to try again, and they have something really big in store.

But Theo Robinson has no interest in The Realm Online. A MOBA player, RPGs have never been his thing. The only reason he accepted the invitation was because of another secret project that Radical Interactive has been working on. Word has it they have been trapping people with brain injuries inside of The Realm Online. When Nancy Shelton, YouTube's most famous female Let's Player (and Theo's best friend online), got into a car accident and ended up in a coma, it was suspected that her consciousness had been ported into the game. Theo's quest isn't to demo The Realm Online but to try to find his friend. But will he even be able to look for her when the immersion is so intense that he forgets who he is?

Get it by signing up here: http://www.subscribepage.com/TheRealmBetween4

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