Even with his increased dexterity, Orrin was having a hard time keeping up with Daniel and the released rat. It darted away from the boys and headed further east.

I guess increasing my dex doesn’t help if I’m not in good shape to begin with, Orrin thought as he ran with all his might.

“You need to start doing more cardio,” Daniel said without a hitch in his voice. He was running just as hard as Orrin, but he’d been playing soccer, football, and basketball for years.

“I- don’t plan- on- needing to run- that often,” Orrin got out between deep breaths.

To Orrin, they sprinted for five days. In reality, it was only ten minutes. They reached the top of a small hill and saw the rat in the distance slowing. Small holes dotted the countryside.

“That’s a lot of dens,” Daniel smiled. “How do you want to do this?”

“I was thinking of hitting each one with [Lightstrike], then keep [Camouflage] up while healing you,” Orrin suggested. “If they are too quick, I can try inversing their dexterity to slow them down too.”

Daniel cracked his knuckles and pulled his sword out. “I’m going to wait for them to get all around me then try out [Whirlwind]”

Orrin nodded. Daniel had finally started spending all those saved up ability points.

Daniel waited while Orrin cast [Ward] and all the increase spells. Orrin cycled back to full health and nodded, “Let’s do it.”

As they came down the hill, a black nose wiggled out of a nearby hole. A rat crawled out with a scramble of dirt falling back. It hissed and ran at them.

Orrin hit it right in the face with a [Lightstrike]. The rat fell over its own feet but was back up and running in seconds.

Daniel took two steps and surged forward. His sword swung with multiple afterimages.

The rat shrieked as dozens of cuts appeared. Another few attacks and Daniel took it down. No healing needed.

Experience Gained: 30XP

“That wasn’t too bad,” Daniel took a hard swing at the rat’s head, decapitating it, before wiped the blood off on the rat’s fur.

“I think a few at a time shouldn’t be too hard,” Orrin agreed. “Let’s try to lure five or six at a time.”

Orrin took out his trusty knife and tried digging the teeth out of the head.

“We should have gotten some pliers,” he complained.

“Just toss the heads in a pile and we’ll get to it later.” Daniel was eyeing the nearest dens.

Fighting more than one rat at a time turned out to be harder than they’d thought. Daniel used his yelling skill [Pull Attention] to grab agro and four rats left two of the holes to attack.

Orrin hit each one once, then had to slow two of them down with an [Inverse] and [Increase Dexterity] spell. Daniel fought up the hill as the two quicker rats nipped at his heels. After one fell, Daniel charged back down the hill at the two still crawling towards him.

Experience Gained: 120XP

“I think four at a time is our max right now,” Orrin cycled his mana back up, as he tossed more rat heads in the growing pile. He rubbed his temples.

“You alright?” Daniel dropped the last head.

“Just a headache,” Orrin pointed. “I think if we approach from there, we can pull two or three. Both of the dens these came from were bigger. Bigger holes means more rats inside.”

Over the next few hours, Daniel and Orrin perfected their strategy. Orrin would slow the rats, as Daniel cut up the rats one at a time.

Experience Gained: 90XP

Level 5 Obtained!

+10 AP

Experience Gained: 120XP

Experience Gained: 120XP

Experience Gained: 90XP

They only pulled more than four one time, when Daniel stepped too close to a third den. Six rats harried Daniel and surrounded him before Orrin could slow more than two of them.

“Hit them with [Lightstrike] quick,” Daniel yelled. He counted off the hits and then activated his skill.

Orrin stood twenty yards away and was still thrown to the ground by the blast of wind that centered from Daniel.

All six rats were shredded meat and gore.

“Daniel, are you alright?” Orrin ran through the matted fur spread around a squatting Daniel.

“Yeah,” Daniel whispered. “That tanked my mana. Headache.” He spoke in halting words.

Orrin cast [Heal Small Wounds] and [Calm Mind] on Daniel who shivered and rolled his shoulders.

“That helps but I’m going to need a break.”

“I’ll collect the heads, go sit down,” Orrin pulled a waterskin out of his [Dimension Hole] and handed it to Daniel.

Experience Gained: 180XP

Level 6 Obtained!

+10 AP

Orrin pulled a sword out of storage and started hacking. When he pulled the last head over, Daniel was laying in the grass with his eyes closed.

“This is easier experience than going outside the wall. I already hit level six.”

Daniel grunted.

“Still feeling it?”

Daniel turned over and put his hand over his eyes.

“You should buy [Meditate].”

“Can’t,” Daniel mumbled. “Not on my list.”

Orrin shrugged and then realized Daniel couldn’t see him. He did a search for ‘mana’ in the store.

[Mana Pool]- increase MP by 100MP (one time purchase) (10AP)

He tried ‘healing mana,’ ‘increase MP,’ and ‘cure’ but nothing new appeared.

I could level up [Increase Will] but since he used up all his MP, would it give him anything?

Would you like to Upgrade [Increase Will] (1,000/1,000) for 2 AP?

Yes or No

Yes.

[Increase Will] Level 2 (0/5,000): increase target Will by +2 for 10 minutes. 10MP

Orrin paused for a second and then upgraded Intelligence as well.

He cast both on Daniel and watched his shoulders slump in relief.

“Thanks,” Daniel whispered as he rubbed his eyes. “Zeroing out my MP was a mistake.”

Orrin cycled his mana and then cast Intelligence and Will Level 2 on himself. My Will increase should be the plus two times 1.3, giving me plus three for each cast.

His Will went up to 28, increasing his mana pool as well. He’d used 100 MP casting the spells. He went from 30/130 to 180/280.

His Intelligence was up to 26. He cycled his mana and cast a 10MP heal on himself. It cost 8MP.

So my Intelligence decreases the costs of my spells. Base Cost of Spell x ((100-(Intelligence-10))/100)= actual spell cost.

My Will increases the efficacy of my spells. Base damage x (Will/10)= actual output.

He recast the rest of his buff spells on Daniel and himself. But I get full base cost credit for leveling a spell, he thought as he watched the counter roll over.Too bad I can’t get the increases to use the increased number as the base when I recast. That would just let me recast up to infinity though.

Daniel was still sipping water and blinking against the sunlight.

I’ve still got 16 AP points. I’ll save them for now and strategize with Daniel tonight.

“Do you want to keep going?” he asked. “We can always come back tomorrow.”

Daniel wobbled to his feet and nodded.

Dane looked on in shock as they dumped twenty-five rat heads at his feet.

“You two were gone so long, I thought you’d died.” He kicked a head to the side as he counted. “This would be amazing for a full party. How’d you do it?”

“Hit them with a sword until they stop moving,” Daniel grumbled. He was angry that they’d left so early. The sun was still sitting high.

“We strategized,” Orrin offered.

Dane tallied out the money and gave them 20 silver. “Sorry, that’s all I’d set aside for this. But I can give you some cabbage for your trouble too?”

Orrin declined politely and they left for Dey.

“We can always come back tomorrow after you’ve rested,” Orrin tried to comfort Daniel.

“First thing in the morning.” Daniel’s eyes burned as he stared ahead.

Daniel sulked when they got back to the Guild and went to their room without a word.

Orrin went out and turned in the Apothecary quest. The woman behind the counter had actually thanked him for not trying to pull the teeth out himself.

“The best part of the tooth is in the skull and most of you adventurers just snap the sharp part off.”

He’d collected the money and returned to their room. Daniel was fast asleep. Orrin had wanted to talk AP purchases but knew when his friend was sulking.

We’ll get more AP tomorrow anyways, he justified as he started buying.

Would you like to buy [Utility Ward Level 1] for 5 AP?

Yes or No

Yes.

Would you like to buy [Map] for 4 AP?

Yes or No

I’m tired of not knowing where we are going and relying on Daniel, so YES.

As he reached to buy more, another ! icon appeared.

Unlocked: Map Upgrades

[Party View]-See your party on your map. Allows you to cast line of sight spells from a distance. 1 AP

[Monster View] See monsters within a distance on your map. Can be negated by certain spells. 1 AP

[Trap View] See traps and hidden items within a distance on your map. 1 AP

[Zoom] See more of the world around you. 1 AP

Unlocked: New Ward

[Utility Ward Level 2]- maximum possible Level 2 Strength, Dexterity, Will, and Intelligence Increase on yourself and your party within 100 feet. 200 MP. -10AP

Orrin had planned on buying [Teleport]. Walking all day was definitely not his thing. But the Map upgrades would make scouting the rat nests easier. Not to mention [Trap View]. I wonder if it picks up treasure too.

He bought all four, leaving him with 3 AP. I’ll save those for now.

He pulled up his [Map]. A dot next to him showed Daniel. No monsters showed up around him. He did see a few tiny dots under the bar next door. Probably dropped money.He tried playing with the Zoom feature and was able to get about a mile around him in view.

He smirked and played with map until he fell asleep.

“AHHHH,” Daniel screamed as he hacked at the rat in front of him.

“D! It’s dead.” Orrin stood off to the side.

After Daniel had woken him before the sun rose, they’d headed right back for the rat dens. Orrin was barely able to keep up. When he'd told Daniel about the [Map] upgrades, Daniel had stopped talking with him.

Experience Gained: 600XP (20 x 30xp).

Level 7 Obtained!

+10 AP

Daniel lowered his sword and stood breathing hard.

“I need to get more AP,” he muttered.

“Daniel, what is the deal man?” Orrin took a step towards him.

Daniel’s sword rose up again, pointing to Orrin.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Daniel roared. “You can just go and go and go, but I’m so tired and have to keep up. I have to get more AP. I have to protect us. Do you realize how many people must already want us dead? I mean we were almost murdered the other night for god's sake.”

Daniel crossed the distance in an instant, pushing into Orrin’s face.

“We’ve been here a week and everyday is just more killing,” he was crying. “I killed people. Human beings.”

He wiped his tears angrily. “And on top of it all, I’m expected to kill a demon lord. Do you know why I save my AP Orrin? Look.”

He pulled up his status screen and shared a blue box.

[Demon Seal] (Hero Specific)- Seal the Demon Lord. Only usable one time. The Demon Lord must be at low health when used. 300AP

“That’s 30 levels of ability points and it didn’t unlock until I hit level five,” he was screaming now.

“How many points are you at?” Orrin breathed.

“NOT ENOUGH.” Daniel turned and threw his sword like a javelin. It struck the rat and buried into the ground underneath.

Orrin stepped forward. "Daniel, we’ll figure it out. We’ll find more good farming areas like this and –“

“You don’t get it.” Daniel spun back around. “You are not the hero. I am. You don’t have to deal with the pressure. You never have.”

“What does that mean?” Orrin shook in rage. “I’m here with you. I’ve had to kill people too. I’m keeping you healed and buffed.”

“Because you still think it’s all a game. Just like back home. You follow me around and I do all the work, while you sit back and relax. And still everyone rewards you for just trying, while I’m expected to be better, to be perfect.”

“I’m sorry my friendship stresses you out so much,” Orrin shot back. “I’m sorry you feel that pressure but that’s not my fault.”

“Nothing is your fault. Nothing is ever your fault,” Daniel yelled. “You are the reason I’m here! You got in my way and that truck hit me. You are the reason I have to do so much, get such good grades, and play soccer and football. Otherwise, my parents would pay no attention to me because they have to take care of the abandoned kid next door!”

Orrin stood quietly as Daniel continued.

“You eat my food, you creep on my sister, you follow me around like a puppy. Then you land me in another world and somehow, you continue to try and butt into my life! Why do you always think you know what is going on or what to do? We are seventeen years old! We aren’t some heroes from one of your stories. You aren’t some mastermind. We should have gone to Silas and gotten his support right away.”

“I’m not the hero here,” Orrin kept his voice tight. “You’re right. If you think I’m holding you back, go ahead. But don’t come begging for my help when they use you in political games or just try to kill you. We’ve learned enough that I thought you wouldn’t be this STUPID.” Orrin’s voice broke as he screamed back.

“I’m sorry I thought you were my friend. I didn’t realize I was such a hassle to deal with. But don't blame me for your choices. Don't blame me for trying to save you."

"TRYING AND FAILING," Daniel shot back. "That's all you do. You just get lucky and people say good job. You got lucky with your class and expect me to say thank you every time you heal me? Do you not see how slow we are going? You are slowing me down. I should be in a full party, running dungeons and getting more experience. Instead, we have to hide out here because you have a weird and illegal class."

"Just one skill and I don't-"

"You can justify all you want, but you still aren't listening," Daniel cut in. "You don't get tired or run out of MP. That's weird. But worse," Daniel picked his sword up out of the rat and wiped it clean. "You don't even seem to care that we've been killing people, Orrin. I've been crying myself to sleep each night. I've barely been sleeping at all."

He looked up and Orrin finally saw Daniel's haunted eyes. The sallow look of his skin and how dirty his hair had become. "You've been sleeping fine. You move to the next thing and don't care at all. You scare me."

Orrin didn't respond.

"Nothing to say?"

"I've heard you break up with your girlfriends," Orrin retorted. "I know how this ends. You are kicking me out of your party, huh?"

"You don't see what I'm talk-"

'See you around, friend.” Orrin spat the last word. He pulled up his store, purchased [Teleport], and disappeared.